Cloak and SWRD
by powerhouse27
Summary: Four children, one human and three Faunas, are on the run from a devious organization. As teenagers, the foursome find shelter in Beacon. But can they keep their grades up, make friends and survive the organization's attempts to kill them? Their hopes lie in a teacher named 'Max Sentinel'. Rated T for fantasy violence, blood and thematic elements. On undefined hiatus.
1. Seven Years Ago On This Day

"Eliminate the Faunas!" a thirty year-old, white-skinned man clad in a black cloak, sturdy dark grey boots, gloves and a grey full face mask with black markings yelled, holding one of his two swords forwards with the moonlight to his back.

"Yes, sir!" a male soldier, with brown hair and white skin, clad in a dark grey infantryman uniform replied, "Search the village, burn all of the homes!"

The man remained quiet until the soldier and his platoon had left.

"They will all pay for their insolence," the man said.

Elsewhere in the village, an adult, white-skinned male that was a Faunas, who had a cheetah tail, was searching an intact home.

"Samuel, Rachael, where are you?!" the adult male asked.

"Here, daddy!" a young girl's voice replied.

The adult male turned to his left and found a brown-haired human boy, a female Faunas who had a tail like the adult male's and blonde hair, a young male African-American bear Faunas with black hair, and a Japanese redheaded girl who was a Fox Faunas with fox ears and a tail (all of whom were ten years old), hiding in fear under an old-looking table.

"Dad, there you are," the boy said.

"Samuel, I'm so glad you and your sister are okay," the father replied.

"Daddy, what's going on?" the girl asked.

"I don't know how to tell you this any other way, Rachael, but we're under attack," the father said.

"Under attack?" the girl now known as 'Rachael' asked, "What's that mean?"

"We're leaving," the father said, "Come with."

"Honey, there you are!" a human woman, with the same skin color, and about was about the same age, as the father, said coming into the house, "We have to leave now!"

"I know," the father said, "Kids, you and your friends come with me."

The father grabbed Samuel and Rachael and led them out of the house, only to be surrounded by the soldiers from earlier.

"Put your hands in the air or we shoot!" one of the soldiers said pointing an assault rifle at the family.

"I know your kind; you'd shoot anyway," the father said, "Human or Faunas."

"That's not true," the man in the black cloak said passing through the wall of soldiers, "We have no intentions to harm humans, but you Faunas are a disease."

"No, it's people like you who are a disease," the mother said.

"Just for that comment, we'll shoot all of you," the cloaked man said, "Ready?"

The soldiers aimed their guns at the father, the mother, and the kids.

"Not so fast!" a deep, man's voice yelled.

The soldiers looked in the direction of the voice and saw a big, bulky, African-American, bear Faunas holding a large broadsword flying through the air. The broadsword's hilt changed into a gun handle and a small box, the blade separated, revealed a rail and, as everyone could see, the broadsword was now a miniature rail gun.

"Take this!" the bear Faunas said loading a small projectile onto the rail, pulling the trigger and firing it.

"Move!" the masked man cried.

The soldiers and the man rolled to the side as the projectile hit the ground and made an explosion that had a five foot radius.

"So good to see you," the father said.

"Thank me later, we need to get the children out of here," the bear Faunas said, "Is my son with you?"

"Yes, William is here," Samuel's dad replied.

Moments later, an African-American woman and a Fox Faunas husband and wife came into the area.

"Danielle, are you alright?" the female Fox Faunas asked.

"Yes, mom, I'm fine," the young fox Faunas now known as 'Danielle' replied.

"Thank goodness," Danielle's father said.

"Your reunion is about to be cut short," the masked man said approaching the group and pulling both of his swords out.

"Stay back, I'll protect you," William's father said changing the rail gun back into a broadsword.

"Allow me to take care of this," one of the soldiers said aiming his gun's barrel at William's dad.

"No, please, let me," the masked man said, "I've been itching for a good fight."

"Take the children and run," William's father said, "I'll hold this guy off."

"Yes," Samuel's dad replied, "Let's go."

Samuel and Rachael's parents led the kids away.

William's father ran at the masked man, who simply stood there as the bear Faunas' blade bounced off of him.

"What?" William's father asked, "How?"

"My turn," the masked man said.

The masked man leapt over the bear Faunas and, as he did so, the swords divided into multiple small segments and became something similar to chain whips. The masked man swung the whips, which wrapped around the bear Faunas' legs and then the man pulled the whips back and tripped the man.

"To the end of the Faunas," the masked man said turning his whips back into swords and raising them up.

"Dad!" William cried, trying to run back to his father.

"William, no!" Samuel's dad said grabbing William's arm and stopping him, "We have to go!"

"Dad! Dad!" William cried as he was dragged off and lost sight of his father.

"There's nothing we can do," Samuel's mom said, "I'm sorry."

Samuel looked at Danielle, who was carrying a wide array of gadgets and gizmos along with one of the soldiers' assault rifles.

"Danielle, how did you get all that?" Samuel asked.

"I picked them up off of the ground," Danielle replied, "How else could I get them?"

"How can you be comedic at a moment like this?" Samuel asked.

"I'm not, I was just answering your question," Danielle answered.

"Freeze!" a soldier yelled as he and a bunch of other soldiers blocked the group's escape into the nearby forest.

"Kids, when we attack, run as fast as you can," Samuel's father whispered to the kids.

"What?" Samuel asked.

Samuel's father put his hand on the sword hilt that was in the sheath on his back while the mom put her hands on a pair of nightsticks that were hidden in the long sleeves of her shirt. The other three adults also readied their weapons and, moments later, the parents leapt at the soldiers and began to attack them.

"Run!" Samuel's dad cried.

"But…!" Samuel protested.

"RUN!" Samuel's dad yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Guys, we need to go," Samuel said, listening to his dad.

Samuel, Rachael, William and Danielle ran off into forest as fast as they could, with tears streaming down their faces.

After running for a very long time the group was all tuckered out, so they found shelter in a cave.

" _Gasp_ , _gasp_ ," Samuel said, breathing heavily, "Is everyone okay?"

"…No…" Rachael replied.

"I figured," Samuel said, "It's just…this is all so sudden."

"Losing our homes, families, friends," Rachael said, "I'm so tired I can't cry anymore."

"My father, my mother," William said, "They're both gone."

"Everyone's gone…" Danielle said, "How is anybody supposed to live after something like this?"

"I guess we're on the run," Samuel said, "So that's how we live, on the run."

"It'll be a miracle if we live seven or more years out here," Rachael said.

"Well then, might as well pray," Samuel said.

Back in the village, the soldiers had almost finished their jobs.

"Sir, we've found everyone in the village and we've rounded them up," a commander said.

"But?" the masked man asked, noticing something off in the soldier's voice.

"But four of them escaped, a female Faunas that resembles a Fox, a male that has the features of a bear, a girl with a cheetah tail and a human boy, all of whom are children," the commander said.

"You let children escape?" the masked man asked.

"I'm sorry, sir," the commander said, "We shall remedy that mistake."

"Don't bother," the masked man said, "They're just children; they won't be able to survive out in the wild, not with Grimm around."

"Yes, sir," the commander said, "I hear you."

The masked man walked away.

"Attention," the commander said talking to an officer, who was a lower rank than him, "I want you to send a squad to search for those kids."

"But what about our leader's orders?" the officer asked, "He told you not to bother."

"I won't be looking for those kids," the commander said, "You and your team will, no matter how long it takes, find those kids."

"Yes, commander," the officer said, "I'll get started right away."

A dark figure watched the whole thing.

Many years later, in a distant land, one which those kids had arrived in...

"Seven years ago," seventeen year-old Samuel said (he was wearing worn blue jeans; a dark blue T-shirt with a white light jacket over it; and he also had black sneakers), "That was the day we went on the run."

"I still worry for our parents," seventeen year-old Rachael said (she was in a dark brown shoulder-sleeve shirt; a brown half-length vest; blue shorts; brown wristbands; and she also had black sneakers, just like her brother), "I hope they made it out."

"I'm sure we'll find them someday," Samuel said.

"Hey, guys," seventeen year-old Danielle said coming into the clearing that the group was resting in with a bunch of stuff in her arms (Danielle had black-brimmed, square frame glasses; a white shirt with black sleeves; dark grey pants; and white shoes), "I finally finished our weapons."

"Took you long enough, I was getting sick of using wooden weapons," big, bulky seventeen year-old William said getting up (he was wearing black pants with a leather belt; a dark green tank top; black fingerless gloves; and dark green shoes), "Who's weapon is who's?"

"The broadsword is for you, I kept the design as close to your father's sword," Danielle said putting the weapons on the ground, "The knives are for Rachael, the sniper rifle is for me and the assault rifle is for Samuel."

Everybody grabbed their respective weapons.

"Go on, try them out," Danielle said.

William swung his broadsword around and cut clear through a tree. He then pressed a button on the hilt and it turned into a rail gun, just like his father's.

"Just like my dad's," William said, "Thanks."

Rachael cut up a few bushes with her weapons and then pressed a button on the bottom of each knife's hilt; this caused the blades to collapse, get smoother edges so you couldn't cut yourself with them and then the hilts turned into gun handles and then Rachael could see that she now had two pistols, one in each hand.

Rachael tried them out by shooting a few Nearby rocks to pieces.

"Well, Danielle, aren't you going to show us yours?" Rachael asked.

"Just to warn you, I gave myself a little bonus," Danielle said pulling what appeared to be a jetpack out from behind a nearby tree.

"That's cool," Samuel said.

Danielle put the jetpack on, pulled out her sniper rifle and showed off her marksmanship skills by hitting a few faraway rocks.

"Showoff," Rachael said.

"What else does it do?" Samuel asked.

"If I used the other function, I would burn the forest down," Danielle said.

"I guess it's my turn," Samuel said.

Samuel fired his assault rifle at the tree and made an 'X' in it, then he clicked a button on the grip of his gun and the gun converted into a nightstick.

"Huh, nifty," Samuel said, "But is that all it does?"

"Press the button on top," Danielle said.

Samuel held the nightstick the right way and pressed a small button on the top and a blade popped out of the end of the nightstick.

"Neat," Samuel said, "Nice work, Danielle."

Little did our heroes know, they were being watched.

"Finally, we've caught up to them," a soldier from the village said, "Tell the commander we found them."


	2. A Beacon of Hope

"You found them?" the commander asked.

"Yes, commander Coros," one of the soldiers replied through a walkie-talkie.

"After seven years, we finally found them," the commander now known as 'Coros' said.

"Should we engage?" the soldier asked.

"No, they are too close to the kingdom of Vale," Coros said, "Just watch them, I wish to find out where they are going."

"Yes, commander," the soldier said, "Over and out."

Coros turned the walkie-talkie off just before the masked man from the village entered the command center that Coros was in.

"Coros, what was that about?" the masked man asked.

"Those kids," Coros said, trying to tell the truth without revealing his part in the plan, "Some of our scouts came across them."

"Really?" the masked man asked, "Where are they?"

"They are near the kingdom of Vale," Coros replied, "I told the scouts to watch those kids and follow them."

"Good move," the masked man said, "Coros, I wish for you to accompany those scouts in the surveillance of those kids."

"As you wish, sir," Coros replied, "I will leave immediately."

Coros left the room and went down the hall to his right.

Later that day, the runaways were making their way north.

"You know what," Rachael said.

"What?" Samuel asked, "That you wish we could stop running?"

"Yeah," Rachael said, "I just want to find a place where we can just, y'know, rest and settle down, at least for a while."

"Well, a lot of places aren't fond of Faunas," Samuel said.

"What's that implying?" Rachael asked.

"I didn't mean it in any aggressive way," Samuel said, "I meant that I wish other humans would just accept Faunas fully into society, you guys are people too."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Rachael said sincerely.

"Guys, do you see that?" William asked pointing in front of the group.

The others looked up and saw a large wall.

"What's this?" Samuel asked.

"It's a wall," Danielle said.

"I know that," Samuel said.

"Then why'd you ask?" Danielle asked.

"Ugh…let's just go check it out," Samuel said.

The group approached the wall and saw how huge it was.

"What is this place?" Rachael asked.

"I don't know," Samuel said, "But I intend to find out, maybe we can stay here for a while."

The group searched the wall until they saw a gate with two metal doors that were twenty feet tall and ten feet wide each.

"This must be the entrance," Samuel said, "Anybody have any ideas on how to open it?"

"Hello there, travelers," a computerized voice said over some speakers, "Welcome to the kingdom of Vale."

"I think I've heard of this place back when we lived in the village," Rachael said, "This is one of the four kingdoms located across Remnant."

"Travelers, do you wish to have a map of Vale?" the computer asked.

"Uh…sure, I guess," Samuel replied.

A small hole opened up in the gate and a robot arm came out and handed Samuel a map.

"Enjoy your stay here in Vale," the computer said as the gates opened up, granting the four teenagers admittance to Vale.

The group went through the gateway and came into a large city; to them this was the most breathtaking thing they've ever seen.

"Wow…" Samuel said with his jaw hanging slack.

"This. Is. Amazing." Rachael said.

"I thought our old village was cool," William said.

"I'll admit, it's impressive," Danielle said.

"Uh, do you guys have any idea where we should go?" Samuel asked.

"I vote we head to a café or something and sit for a while," Rachael said, "We don't have much else to do right now anyways."

"Right, maybe we can get a bite to eat or something," William said, "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Samuel said.

"Then you can see why I'm hungry," William said.

The foursome made their way through the kingdom of Vale, admiring the scenery; the shops and the feeling of security that the city offered, until they came to a small, humble café next to a small shop called 'From Dust Till Dawn'.

"Looks like we can stop here," Samuel said.

The group entered the café and figured that it mustn't be very popular since there were only five other customers there.

"Let's find a spot," Samuel said.

"Which won't be hard," Rachael said.

The group sat down at one of the tables that was near a TV and tried to figure out what to do next.

"Well, do you guys have any ideas on where we should go or what we should do?" Samuel asked.

"Not really," William said, "I want to get back at those guys who wrecked our village a few years back, but we can't really fight."

"If only there were a way that we could learn how to actually fight," Rachael said, "I mean, we can hold our own, but we can't actually win a battle."

"Guys, I'm trying to watch the news," Danielle said.

"And now we have with us Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon," a news reporter said on the TV that was in the café.

"What's this?" Rachael asked, turning her attention towards the TV.

"A news report," Danielle said, "They're interviewing somebody important."

"Professor Ozpin, we're all very excited to hear about the successes of your school when it comes to training the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses," the news reporter said, "But today, our viewers are more interested in learning about the ways that students can get into Beacon."

"Well, there are two ways that students can get into Beacon," the man known as 'Professor Ozpin' replied, "They either finish all of their studies at one of the nearby combat schools or they complete a rigorous training exam, which is actually going to be held in Vale Park at noon tomorrow. Students of all walks of life are welcome."

"Beacon?" William asked, "What's that?"

"Beacon…it's a combat school," Danielle said, "I can still remember people in the village talk about it."

"Well, Rachael, you wanted to learn how to fight," Samuel said, "And I guess our prayers have been answered."

"We should go to the park and spend the night there," Danielle said, "So we can be there when the event opens up."

"Good idea," Samuel said, "It's almost nighttime, we should get going."

The group got up and made their way out of the café as a girl in a red hood made her way into the nearby shop 'From Dust Till Dawn', Samuel was the only one who saw her face and silver eyes.

"Hmm," Samuel thought, "Silver eyes, I know I heard about those before. But…where?"

Samuel shook the thought from his mind and he followed the others to the park, where they set up a bunch of hammocks and prepared to spend the night.

"You know what, it's nice being able to sleep in a city for once," Rachael said.

"Yeah," William agreed, "I'm getting sick of running and hiding."

"Hopefully we pass that test tomorrow and learn how to fight," Danielle said, "We could use the skill."

"I just hope we finish," Samuel said, "We know nothing about what we're getting into."

"Yeah," Rachael said, "But let's worry about that tomorrow, good night."

Everybody fell asleep shortly afterwards, without knowing that those two soldiers were watching them. Both of which were in disguise.

"Commander Coros, come in, Commander Coros," one of the soldiers said talking through a communicator.

"What is it?" Coros asked from his end.

"We've tracked those kids to Vale Park," the soldier said, "Shall we eliminate them?"

"No, the area is too public," Coros replied, "Watch them closely. I shall arrive within the week."

"Affirmative," the soldier said, "Over and out."

The soldiers made their way to a hotel as the teenagers slept the night away.


	3. A Grimm Test

" _Yawn_ ," Rachael moaned waking up, "That was a good night of rest."

"Morning, Rachael," Samuel said, "Breakfast is ready."

"What is it this time?" Rachael asked, "Better not be bugs again."

"No, Danielle made a salad with stuff we found in the forest yesterday," Samuel replied, "It's not much, but it's something."

The group ate breakfast and put their hammocks away.

"Are you guys ready?" Samuel asked.

"I guess," Rachael said, "Considering that we know nothing about what we're getting ourselves into."

"I guess some other people are already here," William said, "Take a look."

The group looked at the area near the gazebo and saw a crowd of about ten other teenagers their age, along with Professor Ozpin, around it.

"I guess we slept longer than we thought," Samuel said, "Let's head on over there."

Samuel and the others joined the crowd.

"Small crowd," Danielle said.

"I think he's about to speak," Samuel said.

Professor Ozpin approached the mounted microphone in the gazebo and cleared his throat.

"Hello, everyone," Professor Ozpin said, "My name is Professor Ozpin. You are here today to take part in the test for the acceptance into my school—Beacon—and to a better education. In a few minutes, you will all take a turn at trying to complete our rigorous training course. Those who complete it will be accepted into Beacon, but those who fail shall have to find other…educational opportunities."

Samuel swallowed hard after hearing the word 'fail'.

"Okay then," Professor Ozpin said, "Everyone, board the transport and we'll take you to our training course."

"I thought the test was going to take place in the park," Samuel said.

"I guess not," Rachael said.

Everybody got onboard the transport and the doors closed behind them.

"Pilot, take us to the training course," Professor Ozpin requested.

The transport flew up into the air and flew in a northwestern direction.

"Wow, flying is such a weird feeling," Samuel said.

After a few minutes, the transport landed in a small forest located just outside of Vale's walls and everyone left the ship. As Samuel and his buddies left, they saw a cool-looking obstacle course.

The course itself consisted of a path filled with poles and holes that you would have to weave around and jump over; a tall rockwall and a pit you had to swing across by using multiple ropes; and then there was also a good-sized arena at the end (the course might sound short, but each segment was really long).

"Everyone, this is our training course," Professor Ozpin said, "Our test involves a mix of speed, agility, intelligence, strength and skill. Your objective is to finish our course within five minutes, first you must make your way through the obstacle course and then you all must defeat your opponent."

The foursome looked at the course, thinking to themselves: 'I think we bit off more than we can chew'.

"Will everyone please come to the starting line?" Professor Ozpin asked.

All of the teenagers made their way to the starting line and readied themselves.

"Your test begins…now," Professor Ozpin said just before the starting gate opened up and all of the teenagers ran right in.

No trainees failed the first part of the test; one trainee did fall off of the climbing wall and was disqualified.

"One down, thirteen left," Samuel thought to himself.

The second part of the course wasn't too tough, but three trainees fell on this part and failed.

By the point that the foursome had reached the arena, they could see that a black-haired girl with a black bow on her head was already at the arena.

"This girl must be quick," Samuel thought to himself.

"I see that most of the trainees made it to the final part," Professor Ozpin said, "But I warn you, this last challenge will not be so easy."

There was a large cage (at least twenty feet in height) on the far side of the arena, and a big pair of red, glowing eyes could be seen in it.

"What's that?" Rachael asked.

"A cage," Danielle said.

"I don't know…" Samuel replied.

The cage's door suddenly fell down.

"But I think we're about to find out," Samuel said.

As soon as Samuel stopped talking, a huge black creature that resembled a nineteen and a half foot tall mammoth with what appeared to be armor made of bone came out of the cage.

"What is that?" Samuel asked.

All of the other trainees, except for the girl with the bow on her head, charged at the mammoth-like creature, but all of them were quickly defeated by getting kicked by the legs and smacked with the trunk.

"That thing's tough," Samuel said.

"We've only got two minutes left!" Rachael said, "What are we going to do?"

The girl with the bow ran at the mammoth creature, leapt over its attack and shot it in the back.

"That's it," Danielle said, "Guys, try to stay above the ground or at a distance, that creature has no way to protect the top of its body!"

"Got it," Samuel said, "Everybody, get ready to use your ranged weapons."

Samuel, Rachael, William and Danielle pulled out his/her assault rifle, pistols, rail gun and sniper rifle respectively.

"Fire!" Danielle said.

They all attacked the mammoth creature and got its attention.

"I don't like the way he's looking at us!" William cried.

The creature charged at the foursome.

"Move!" Danielle said.

Everybody else moved to the side, but William didn't.

"William, what are you doing?!" Samuel asked.

The mammoth creature was within twenty feet of William when he decided to put his foot down…literally. As soon as he did, a huge piece of ground under the creature quickly moved up and launched it into the air and onto its side.

"Everybody, get it!" Danielle said.

All five of the remaining trainees, the foursome and the girl with the bow, all changed their guns into their close range weapons and defeated the creature with a minute still left on the clock.

"Congratulations," Professor Ozpin said walking into the arena as the creature disintegrated, "You have all passed the test."

"What was that thing!?" Samuel asked.

"You don't know what a Grimm is?" the girl with the bow asked.

"No…I guess not," Samuel replied.

"Somebody had a happy childhood," Professor Ozpin said.

"If only that were true," Samuel said.

"Mrs. Belladonna, would you mind explaining what Grimm are?" Professor Ozpin asked.

The girl turned her head away and remained silent as she walked off, sat by a tree and opened up a book.

"Okay, I guess I get to," Professor Ozpin said, "Grimm are a force born of darkness and wish nothing more than to destroy everything."

"Glad we never ran into one of them before," Samuel thought to himself.

"Grimm come in many different shapes and sizes, some are more powerful than others," Professor Ozpin said, "Grimm usually live in packs, so they are a force to be reckoned with."

"Wow," Samuel said.

"And that is what you're up against as Huntsmen and Huntresses," Professor Ozpin said.

"Wait, we have to fight more of these things?" Rachael asked.

"As I said, Huntsmen and Huntresses are humanity's defense against Grimm," Professor Ozpin said, "So, yes, you do have to battle more of these."

"Ohh…" Samuel groaned.

"Everybody who did not complete the training exercise, board the transport which you rode here, you will be taken back to Vale," Professor Ozpin said, "The rest of you, come with me."

Professor Ozpin led the foursome and the girl with the bow into a smaller transport that closed its doors, which also had windows, as they entered. Moments later, it took them high into the air.

"Hey, what's your name?" Rachael asked.

"Hmm?" the girl with the bow asked.

"What's your name?" Rachael asked again.

"Blake," the girl known as 'Blake' replied.

"What's that you're reading?" Rachael asked.

"It's a book, it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control," Blake replied.

"That sounds…interesting," Rachael said.

Before Rachael could say anything else, they could see a huge airship through the window.

"Woah…" Rachael said, "That is cool."

"Main transport, this is unit 12-54, requesting permission to drop off new students," the transport's pilot said.

"Permission granted," another person replied through the pilot's communicator.

A large hanger opened up in the side of the airship and the small craft landed in there.

"You five students will take the elevator and join the other students up in the common area," Professor Ozpin said.

"Anything else?" Samuel asked.

"Yes," Professor Ozpin replied, "Welcome to Beacon."


	4. The First Day

The foursome and Blake boarded the elevator as Professor Ozpin and the smaller transport went on ahead to Beacon.

"Wow, I can't believe we made it…to Beacon," Samuel said.

"I'm shocked too," William said.

The elevator reached the top and the foursome and Blake stepped out.

"Wow, look at all of these other students," Rachael said.

Blake found the nearest wall, sat down and continued to read her book.

"Well, anybody have any idea what we should do first?" Samuel asked.

Danielle was already walking off.

"Danielle, where are you going?" Samuel asked as he, Rachael and William followed Danielle.

Danielle and the others stopped in front of a large holo-screen that was showing the news.

"The robbery was led by the nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities," a male news reporter said on the screen, "If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa."

The screen changed its picture from a pair of mug shots of a man with bright orange hair and a white, black and red outfit to a live video of another news reporter named 'Lisa Lavender'.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunas' civil rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony," Lisa Lavender said on the holo-screen, "The once-peaceful organization has now disrupted…"

Lisa Lavender was cut off as the holo-screen disappeared and was replaced by a hologram of a woman who had glasses, blonde hair, a white, almost puffy shirt, black pants that went up above her stomach and a purple torn-looking cape.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," the holographic woman said.

"Who's that?" a yellow-haired girl, who I wish wore a little more clothing, asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch," the holographic woman known as 'Glynda Goodwitch' said.

"Oh," the yellow-haired girl said.

Samuel looked back at the girl and saw the other girl that he had seen last night with her.

"She seems familiar," Samuel thought, and then he remembered last night, "Oh yeah; she was at the shop next to the café. But she looks younger than the rest of us."

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it," Glynda Goodwitch said, "You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The hologram disappeared and everybody flocked to the windows to take in the view.

"Whoa," Samuel said, "Could this day get any better?"

Suddenly, a blond boy, wearing a hoodie with armor and blue jeans, who looked very sick, ran by the foursome.

"What's with him?" Rachael asked.

"Who knows?" William said.

"Guys, look over there!" Samuel said.

The foursome looked to the right and saw a structure that almost resembled a large castle.

"That must be Beacon," Samuel said.

"That's going to be our new home for the next few years," Rachael said, "So we'd better make the most of our time here."

"I don't know guys, I'm getting really nervous," William said.

"You, nervous?" Samuel asked.

"I haven't been to school for seven years," William said, "Most of these kids know much more than we do."

"You've got a point," Samuel said, "But how about we not think about it until we have to?"

The airship landed and everybody poured out of it and into Beacon's courtyard.

"Do you guys have any idea on where we're supposed to go?" Samuel asked.

"I want to go see the rest of the courtyard," Rachael replied.

"I want to find where they've got the food," William said.

"I guess we should follow the crowd," Danielle said.

"What crowd?" Samuel asked.

"What do you mean?" Danielle asked.

"Look," Samuel said.

The group looked around and saw that they were all alone.

"Oh, come on," Danielle said.

"Come on, if we hurry, we should be able to catch up!" Rachael yelled looking back at the others.

"Rachael, watch out!" Samuel cried.

"Why?" Rachael asked just before running into a short, German, Panther Faunas.

The Faunas turned around and stared Rachael down.

"I'm sorry, sir," Rachael said, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

The midget said nothing and simply pulled out a pole with a computer screen on the end.

"Uh…" everybody wondered.

Words started to appear on the screen and after a moment, it looked like: "Hello and welcome to Beacon, students, I am Max Sentinel. I'm the school's Language Arts teacher."

"You speak with a sign?" Samuel asked.

The sign's screen now said "Yes. My turn for a question; what are your names?"

"Oh, uh…my name is Samuel North," Samuel replied.

"I'm his twin sister, Rachael," Rachael said getting up.

"I'm William Claw," William answered.

"Danielle Riki," Danielle said.

The sign changed to say "You should all get to the meeting place, it's to the north. It was nice meeting you all."

The foursome walked north to the meeting place and made it just in time for a speech.

"I'll keep this brief," Professor Ozpin said through a microphone on the stage.

"Looks like we got here just in time," Samuel said.

"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills…and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." Professor Ozpin said, "But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far…it is up to you to take the first step."

Professor Ozpin walked to the side and the actual Glynda Goodwitch approached the microphone.

"You will gather in the barn tonight, tomorrow your initiation begins…be ready," Glynda Goodwitch said, "You are dismissed."

"I hope we aren't sleeping in a real barn," Rachael said.

Later that night, the students had all moved over to the barn, which was an auditorium.

"Wow, this place is so much nicer than a real barn!" Rachael exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down," Danielle said.

"You know, you two could help us try to figure these things out," Samuel said trying to set up the sleeping bags.

"Help…" William said, tangled up and strings and covered with the other three sleeping bags.

"Fine…" Danielle said.

Rachael and Danielle helped the boys set the sleeping bags up.

"There, easy," Danielle said, "Now how about we get some rest? We've got a big day ahead."

It took a few hours, but they all finally fell asleep.

(Special Thanks to fellow fanfiction writer and good friend 'MewtwoIsAwesome' for use of his OC 'Max Sentinel')


	5. Initiation Initative

Samuel was woken up by an almost annoying nearby voice.

"Wake up, lazybutt!" an orange-haired girl with a big white ribbon the back of her suit said to a black-haired man with pink eyes.

The man got up.

"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! Ii-ii-it's morning!" the girl said.

The man sighed as he and girl made their way to a room filled with sinks and mirrors.

"I wonder what that was all about," Samuel thought.

"Come on, guys," William said getting up, "Our first full day of our new life begins."

The foursome put their sleeping stuff away, got into their day clothes and made their way to the cafeteria.

"Are these what I think they are?" Samuel asked as he grabbed a tray with pancakes on it and a cup of orange juice.

"I think I know," Rachael said, "But we haven't had these for a long time."

The foursome happily ate their breakfast.

"That was some of the best food I've ever had," William said, "Way better than bugs."

After breakfast, the foursome made their way to the main hall.

"Uh, guys, do you have any idea on how to use these things?" Samuel asked pointing to his locker, "I can't remember how to open it."

"We haven't even started class and already we're having problems," Danielle said.

It took a few minutes, but they finally opened up their lockers and got their weapons out.

"Finally," Rachael said pulling her knives out of her locker and putting them in sheaths on her wristbands.

"Would all first year students report to Beacon Cliff for initiation?" Glynda Goodwitch asked via the speakers in the hall, "Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"And just in time," Danielle said.

"We don't want to miss this, let's go," Samuel said.

The foursome made their way to Beacon Cliff by following the crowd. When they got there, they could see Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch were already there.

"Will all of the students please stand on the metal tiles?" Glynda Goodwitch asked.

The students did as instructed and stepped onto the tiles.

"For years you have trained to become warriors and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Professor Ozpin said.

"Now I'm sure many of you have heard the rumors of the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion," Glynda Goodwitch said, "Each of you will be given teammates…today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Professor Ozpin said, "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"What?!" the girl with the red hood exclaimed.

"See? I told you." the orange-haired girl said the man with the pink eyes.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Professor Ozpin said, "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics; each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

The blond boy who was sick back on the airship raised his hand.

"Yeah, uh, sir?" he asked.

"Good!" Professor Ozpin said, "Now, take your positions."

Everybody, except for the blond boy, Samuel, Rachael, William and Danielle, got into a 'ready' position.

"What's going on?" Samuel asked.

"Uh…sir, I've got a…um…a question," the blond boy said.

Suddenly, a girl that was in a white dress—sorry—combat skirt launched into the air, right next to Samuel.

"What?!" Samuel exclaimed.

Without warning, Samuel was shot into the air.

"Whagh!" Samuel screamed as he flew through the sky.

"Oh, now I get it," Rachael said, "But I don't think Samuel did."

"He's going to get himself hurt!" Danielle exclaimed, "Let me take your place."

Danielle moved Rachael onto her spot (Rachael's tile was next to Samuel's) and was catapulted into the sky.

"What's Danielle doing?" William asked.

"I haven't the foggiest idea," Rachael said, "Race you to the temple!"

"You're on!" William said as Rachael was launched into the air, "No fair, you get a head start!"

Meanwhile, Samuel was still hurtling through the air.

"This is not what I thought was going to happen!" Samuel cried.

"Don't worry, I'm coming!" Danielle said.

"Danielle?" Samuel asked.

Danielle turned her jetpack on, flew to and saved Samuel and, a minute later, they both landed safely on the ground.

"Gee, thanks, Danielle," Samuel said.

"Don't read into this or anything," Danielle said just before she dropped Samuel onto the ground.

"Okay," Samuel replied, "But since we made eye contact as soon as you landed, I guess we're going to be partners."

"I wonder who William and Rachael will meet," Danielle said, "That's what I'm worried about."

The two teenagers didn't know that the soldiers had tracked them to the Emerald Forest.

"Commander Coros, we've tracked those kids to the Emerald Forest, but we only see the human and the fox Faunas," one of the soldiers said.

"That will have to do," Commander Coros said through the soldier's communicator, "I will stop by our nearby camp and pick up reinforcements."

"Affirmative," the soldier replied, "We'll keep a close eye on those kids."

"Excellent, over and out," Coros said as the communicator turned off.

Elsewhere in the forest, Rachael was zooming along.

"This is too easy!" Rachael thought to herself.

Abruptly, Rachael tripped on a tree root and fell over.

"Ow, that hurt," Rachael said.

 _Snort! Grunt! Snort!_

"What's that?" Rachael asked hearing the snorting and grunting.

Out of nowhere, a black creature that bore physical resemblance to the mammoth, but looked way more like a bear with a spiky back burst through a tree.

"That's a Grimm!" Rachael exclaimed.

"He's mine!" William yelled from behind Rachael.

Rachael looked at William and watched as he passed by her and cut the Ursa Grimm in half.

"What? No 'thank you'?" William asked looking into Rachael's eyes.

"Not if I have to work with your slow speed," Rachael said.

"I thought we were friends," William said.

As soon as William finished, a Grimm resembling a wolf ran to William from the back. Rachael leapt over William and used her knives to cut the Beowulf to pieces.

"We're not friends, we're partners," Rachael said, "Even if you're a slowpoke."

"Real funny," William said, "Now come on, we need to get moving."

Glynda Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin were watching everything via a Scroll.

"The next two pairings have been formed," Glynda Goodwitch said looking at the Scroll, "Samuel North and Danielle Riki make up the first one and the second is Samuel's twin sister—Rachael—and a bear Faunas named William Claw."

"Interesting," Professor Ozpin said, "I think that the latter is our only pairing involving just Faunas."

"Something's off about those four though," Glynda Goodwitch said, "I know they all passed the test along with Blake Belladonna, but I don't think they're from any of the kingdoms or have ever been to a battle school."

"I don't really think it matters too much," Professor Ozpin said, "Remember, we welcome people from all walks of life."

"I know, it's just that…something's different about these four," Glynda Goodwitch said, "I guess we'll find out in time."


	6. Checkered Relics

"Another one on your left!" Rachael said.

"Got it!" William exclaimed as he attacked the Beowulf to his left.

"Nice job!" Rachael said as she changed her knives into pistols and shot another Beowulf to pieces.

"Where are all of these Grimm coming from?" William asked.

"I don't know, but I can't take much more of this!" Rachael said.

"Then let's get out of here!" William said.

"Why don't you use your powers?" Rachael asked.

"I believe the other students called it a Semblance," William said, cutting a Beowulf in half, "And why not use yours?"

"Good idea!" Rachael exclaimed.

Rachael appeared to go really fast as she cut up the rest of the Grimm in the area.

"I forgot how it looked when you use it," William said.

"I forgot how it makes me so dizzy afterwards," Rachael moaned.

"I hope that Samuel and Danielle are doing okay," William said.

Out of the trees, even more Grimm arrived.

"Are you kidding me?!" William and Rachael asked.

Unbeknownst to everybody else, Commander Coros had reached the camp to which he was referring to.

"Hello, Commander," a technician said, greeting Coros.

"Hello, are the forces I requested ready?" Coros asked.

"Yes," the technician replied, "But are you sure you want to use the new mechanical forces?"

"Yes, since the other soldiers couldn't do the job, I figured something more…precise could," Coros said.

"I know you want those kids dead, but you do remember that the mechanical soldiers are weak to excess electricity, right?" the technician asked.

"Yes, don't think I've forgotten," Coros said, "Is the transport loaded and ready to depart?"

"Yes," the technician replied, "You may leave whenever you wish to."

"Excellent, tell the scouts that I'm on my way in," Coros said as he entered the transport ship filled with robotic soldiers.

Meanwhile, Samuel and Danielle were struggling to find the forest temple.

"Do you have any ideas on where the forest temple is?" Samuel asked.

"No," Danielle said, "And my jetpack is too drained to fly me more than three feet, and even then I could probably only stay in the air for a few seconds."

"So if aerial movement is impossible," Samuel thought, "We'll do this the old-fashioned way."

Samuel began to climb up the nearest tall tree.

"I won't save you if you fall down," Danielle said.

"Ha, ha," Samuel said.

Samuel reached the top and surveyed the area.

"Anything?" Danielle asked.

"Nothing but…hold on…" Samuel said.

"What is it?" Danielle asked.

"I see smoke, to the east!" Samuel said.

"Smoke? We have to find out if somebody's in trouble!" Danielle said just before running east.

"Danielle, wait!" Samuel said as he slid down the tree.

Samuel caught up with Danielle just before they reached the burning section of the forest.

"What happened here?" Samuel asked.

"Hey, guys!" William called.

Samuel and Danielle looked in the direction of the voice and saw William and Rachael battling a bunch of Grimm.

"Long time, no see!" Rachael said, "Would you mind giving us a hand?"

Samuel pulled out his Assault Rifle and shot up a few of the Grimm, this got their attention.

"Now what?!" Samuel asked.

"Move back!" Danielle said.

Samuel moved behind Danielle, and then Danielle's Sniper Rifle turned into a weapon made up of boxes and tubes.

"I thought you said this could burn down a forest!" Samuel yelled.

"I did," Danielle said, "But it's kind of already on fire!"

The weapon sent forth a huge wave of fire that burned all of the Grimm to nothing.

"It's a Flamethrower…" Samuel said.

"Told you it was dangerous," Danielle said.

"Thanks, guys," William said approaching the two partners.

"We thought we'd had it," Rachael said.

"Well, now that we're all back together, let's make our way to the forest temple," Samuel said, "…Which we have no idea where it's located."

Everybody else fell over and then got right back up.

"Do you mean that we're lost?" William asked.

"I guess," Samuel replied.

"Actually, they said the temple is on the northern side," Danielle said, "So we should start heading north."

"Good idea," Rachael said.

The group began the northern trek to the forest temple.

"Commander," one of Coros' scouts said from behind a tree, "Those kids are going north."

"Anything else to report?" Coros asked via a communicator.

"They've grown stronger than we thought they would," the scout said, "They just took out a huge pack of Grimm."

"Grimm are nothing," Coros said, "Don't let them out of your sight, those kids are the last remainder of that village that we know about, they must be killed."

Coros turned the communicator off and the scouts resumed their surveillance over the foursome. After another thirty minutes, the foursome came to a destroyed structure that looked almost like a circle courtyard with a bunch of pillars surrounding it and many pedestals near the edge with an over-sized chess piece on each one.

"Are we sure we're in the right place?" Samuel asked, "It doesn't look like a temple."

"Well, there are strange-looking items over there," Danielle said, "Those must be the relics."

"You do have a point," Samuel said, "Let's go check it out."

The foursome made their way to the remains of the temple and looked around.

"These look familiar," William said.

"They're chess pieces," Danielle said, "I used to play chess back at the village."

"I can see a lot of these are missing," Samuel said.

"Do you guys know what we're supposed to do with these?" Rachael asked.

"I can see that for every piece, there's a duplicate," Danielle said, "I think that the teams are determined by which piece a pair grabs, so we should all pick the same piece if we want to be a team."

"But which two?" William asked.

"I vote for the black queen pieces," Rachael said.

"Black king," William said.

"Well, I think Danielle should decide," Samuel said, "What do you think?"

"How about the white pawn?" Danielle asked.

"The white pawn?" Rachael and William asked.

"It's humble, it's different, it's like us," Danielle said.

"I see," Samuel said, "White pawn it is."

Rachael and Samuel each grabbed one of the white pawns.

"Now, we need to head back to the cliffs," Samuel said.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," a voice said.

"What?" the foursome asked.

The foursome turned to the south and saw a small army of robots and a tank at least twenty feet away.

"What's going on?" Samuel asked.

"I was hoping you would have recognized me," Commander Coros said poking his head out of the tank, "But I guess it's hard to recognize a face after seven years."

"You…you were at the village," Samuel said, remembering the face of the man who was ready to shoot his parents seven years ago, "You're that soldier that threatened my parents!"

"Correction, the soldier that killed your parents," Coros said, "And the name is Commander Coros."

"Commander my…" Samuel started.

"Now, now, young kids like you shouldn't be talking like that," Coros said, "Soldiers, prepare to open fire!"

Coros got back into the tank as the robot soldiers readied their weapons.

"We are in so much trouble," Rachael said.

Meanwhile, Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch saw the incident.

"What are they doing here?" Glynda Goodwitch said, "We thought the forest only had Grimm in it."

"But I guess we were wrong," Professor Ozpin, "Send Mr. Sentinel in, he's the nearest teacher."

"But I thought you said our instructors couldn't get involved," Glynda Goodwitch said.

"But those kids don't stand a chance against The Black Talon," Professor Ozpin said, "Send him the message as soon as possible."

"As you wish," Glynda Goodwich said as she pressed the message icon on her Scroll.


	7. In The Black Talons of Thy Enemies

"Move!" Samuel cried.

The foursome took cover in the temple ruins as the soldiers sent hundreds of bullets through the air.

"I remember the screams of your parents as they died," Coros said, "It was music to my ears."

"Grr…!" Samuel growled, "I'll make sure your screams are so loud that the dead can hear them!"

Samuel ran out from behind his cover and charged at the tank.

"Samuel, what are you doing!?" Rachael asked.

"For my family!" Samuel cried as he shot the tank with his rifle.

"An Assault Rifle versus a tank!?" Danielle asked, "What kind of idiotic move is that!?"

"Wow," Coros thought to himself, "This will be much easier than I thought."

The tank's barrel pointed right at Samuel.

"Fire!" Coros yelled.

In a blinding flash, the tank fired, and when the flash disappeared, everybody could see that there was a crater where Samuel was.

"Samuel!" Rachael cried.

"Wait, he's okay!" William said pointing to some trees.

Samuel was sitting on the ground, next to Max Sentinel.

"Max Sentinel?" Samuel asked, "But I thought instructors couldn't get involved."

Max pulled his sign out and it said "The Black Talon was never supposed to be involved with the initiation, so a teacher had to get involved."

"Thanks for pulling me out of there," Samuel said, "I don't know what I was doing."

Max's sign now said "No biggie, just don't run head on into opposition, think first, attack later."

"I will," Samuel said, "Now, let's take care of Coros."

"Ready all weapons, aim at the human and the midget!" Coros said.

Max's body stiffened as he turned his sign towards Coros, which now read "What did you call me?"

"Uh…a midget," Coros replied, "That's what you are."

Max's sign changed to say "Nobody calls me a midget."

Suddenly, Max ran towards the tank and his sign turned into an axe which sliced the tank's barrel off.

"Whoa," Samuel said.

"What are you robots doing?" Coros asked, "Fire!"

"Aah!" Samuel exclaimed hiding behind a tree in order to avoid the gunfire.

"Come on, guys, we need to help him," Rachael said.

"I'll head up to the top of the ruins and get the aerial advantage," Danielle said, "William, see if you can knock the robots down; Rachael, you use your speed to weaken the robots; then we deal the final blow."

"Got it," William and Rachael replied.

William stabbed his broadsword into the ground and shook it, like an earthquake, this knocked all of the robots down or unbalanced them.

"Rachael!" Danielle said.

Rachael zoomed around and used her knives to disable half of the robots' legs and/or arms.

"Everybody, deal the final blow!" Danielle said.

The three teenagers attacked the robots and knocked them all down.

"That has to have done it," Danielle thought to herself.

"Guys, are you okay?" Samuel asked coming out from behind the tree.

"Come on over to the tank, we're going to finish this fight," Danielle said.

The four teenagers approached the tank, which Max had now disabled.

"Everybody, get ready to attack," Danielle said.

"Hey, would it help to tell you that I've only just begun?" Coros asked.

"What do you mean?" Danielle asked.

"Oh, look at the robots you just knocked down," Coros said.

The foursome and Max looked at the robots and saw them all get up.

"These robots are much more durable than most," Coros said, "We may not have as many as the military, but ours are of a higher grade."

"Uh, oh," Rachael said.

"Attack once more!" Coros said.

The robots all began to fire.

"Run!" Samuel said, "Rachael and I can provide cover fire!"

The group ran back as the robots marched forwards, with Coros close behind.

"Keep going, if we can make it to the cliffs, we can get more help!" Danielle said.

The group stopped when they came to a huge, crescent-shaped lake. And on the other side, there were robots there to prevent them from escaping.

"It's a dead end!" William said.

"Emphasis on 'dead'," Rachael said as the robots approached.

"I've got an idea!" Danielle said, "Everybody, dive!"

"Oh, how I hate water," Rachael said just before a bullet flew by her head, "But I hate getting shot so much more!"

The foursome and Max went into the water and began to swim in it.

"You think a little water can stop these robots?" Coros asked, "After them!"

All of the robots surrounding the lake went into the water and approached the group.

"You guys need to get to the island in the middle of the lake," Danielle said, "I'll take care of the rest!"

The others got onto the island.

"Alright, tin cans, have a taste of this," Danielle said.

Danielle flew into the air a little, aimed her hand at the water and sent electricity through the lake, electrocuting all of the robots.

"No!" Coros said, "Why did they have to guess that their one weakness is electricity?"

"Robots are electronic, and since water and metal conduct electricity, I figured that I could just overload their circuits," Danielle said.

"Coros, it's your turn!" Samuel said.

"No, not today, but someday…someday you will all pay." Coros said just before running off.

The others on the island fired their guns at Coros, but he evaded all of the attacks.

"Should we go after him?" Samuel asked.

"No, he'll be long gone," Danielle said, "Let's just go back to Beacon and get some rest, we've had a long day."

Later that day, all of the students had gathered at the meeting place to hear what the teams were.

"I wonder who's up next," Samuel asked.

"We are," Danielle said.

The foursome walked out onto the stage as the crowd cheered and clapped.

"Danielle Riki; Rachael North; Samuel North; William Claw, the four of you retrieved the white pawn pieces." Professor Ozpin announced, "From this day forward you will work together as 'Team SWRD', led by…"

The newly-formed Team SWRD waited for Ozpin's next words.

"Samuel North," Professor Ozpin announced.

"What?" Samuel asked, "Me?"

Team SWRD left the stage and joined the crowd.

"Me…the leader?" Samuel thought, "I'm no good at leading."

Samuel remembered the strategies that Danielle came up with.

"Danielle is much more qualified than I am for this sort of task," Samuel thought.

Samuel felt somebody tap his shoulder and he turned around to see Max Sentinel.

"What do you want?" Samuel asked.

Max's sign said "Congratulations on your position, I look forward to seeing you in class."

"But, Max, I'm not qualified to be a leader. I mean, you saw Danielle back in the Emerald Forest, she did an amazing job of leading."

Max's sign changed, so now it said "I know leadership is a big job, but if Ozpin chose you, there must be a reason."

"I guess," Samuel replied, "Thanks, Max, I'll do my best."

The sign now said "I hope so."

Meanwhile, Coros was getting a big talking-to from his boss.

"You lost over fifty of our robot soldiers to a group of kids?" the masked man asked through a monitor.

"I'm sorry, sir," Coros replied, "I underestimated them. Besides, they had help."

"From whom?" the masked man asked.

"A midget, a teacher from Beacon named 'Max Sentinel'," Coros replied.

"I've heard about him," the masked man said, "He's the reason that our attack was foiled seven years ago."

"No wonder he seemed familiar," Coros said.

"I want your scouts to leave Beacon," the masked man said, "If there's any chance he finds them, our efforts will have been for nothing."

"Yes, sir, I shall inform them right away," Coros said.

The screen turned off.

"So, old friend, you finally decide to reveal yourself," Coros thought, "Such a mistake, you've painted a pretty big target on yourself and those kids."


	8. The Art of Language

" _Yawn_ …" Rachael moaned waking up, "That was the best night of rest I've had in years."

Rachael looked around and saw that Samuel, William and Danielle were already up and in their school uniforms.

"Morning, sis," Samuel said.

"Morning," Rachael replied.

"Get out of bed and get ready," Samuel said.

After a few minutes, the foursome was all ready to go.

"Okay, what's the first thing we do?" Samuel asked.

"I think that we have a Language Arts lesson at 9:00," Danielle said, "At Max Sentinel's classroom."

"Do you know where it's located?" William asked.

"Uh…no…" Danielle replied.

"…Guys?" Rachael said.

"What?" everybody else asked.

"Did you happen to look at the clock?" Rachael asked.

The clock showed that it was 8:56.

"We need to get going!" Samuel said.

The foursome opened their dorm's door, and they all got stuck in the doorway.

"Why…?" Samuel asked.

Two teams from yesterday ran by, the foursome recognized them as teams RWBY and JNPR.

"I guess we're not the only ones who are late," Samuel said.

It took a minute, but the foursome wiggled their way out of the doorframe and made it to Max Sentinel's class with seconds to spare.

"Ah, Team SWRD," were the words on Max's sign, "You made it just in time, we're about to start."

Team SWRD breathed a sigh of relief and took their seats.

Max put his sign in a slot on his desk and large screen pulled down behind him.

"What's this?" Samuel asked.

Words appeared on the sign, and they said "Hello, class, my name is Max Sentinel. I am your Language Arts teacher."

"A Language Arts teach that doesn't talk?" an armored man named 'Cardin Winchester' asked with an insulting tone of voice.

The sign's words changed so it now read "What was that?"

"Well, I mean you're doing it again," Cardin said, "Give me one good reason why you're qualified to teach this class."

The sign now said "Give _me_ one good reason not to give you one between the legs."

"I could beat you in a fight, easily," Cardin said.

Max's sign changed to "Okay, bring it on."

"What about the lesson?" Samuel asked.

The words on the sign changed to "Don't worry, we have some extra time in between classes, we'll have the battle then."

The kids listened to—err—read Max's lecture and, before long, the time for the match had come.

"Face your opponent," a computerized voice said.

Max Sentinel and Cardin Winchester faced each other.

"Begin!" the computer voice said as pictures of Max and Cardin with a green gauge under each one appeared on the screen.

"What's that gauge for?" Samuel asked.

"You guys don't know what Aura is?" a girl that the foursome heard was called 'Pyrrha' asked.

"It's just been so long since I heard about it that I have trouble remembering what it is," Samuel said.

"Well, as my friend Jaune said 'It's like a forcefield'," Pyrrha answered.

"Okay, got it," Samuel said.

"Well, make the first move," Cardin said, "…Fine, I guess I will."

Cardin ran right at Max and swung his mace at him, but Max dodged the attack effortlessly and was behind Cardin.

"Huh?" Cardin asked turning around, only to get punched right between the legs by Max.

Cardin's Aura gauge dropped down to three-fourths. Max turned his sign on and it said "You didn't give me a good reason."

"Ragh!" Cardin cried, swinging his mace at Max and missing.

Max turned his sign into an axe and swung at Cardin, knocking him ten feet away and out of the arena that had been set up.

"Cardin Winchester is out of bounds," the computer said, "Max Sentinel wins."

Cardin looked at Max's sign, which said "That's the reason I'm the Language Arts teacher, I watch what I say."

Cardin just stayed on the ground and whimpered.

A few classes later, it was time to go to Professor Port's class.

"Monsters, de-e-e-emons, prowlers of the night; yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names but I merely refer to them as 'prey'," Professor Port said, "Ha-ha! Ha, ha."

The classroom was silent for a minute.

"Uh…and you shall to, upon graduating from this prestigious academy," Professor Port said, "Now, as I was saying; Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world."

"We should know," Rachael whispered.

"Our world is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces," Professor Prot continued, "And that's where we come in, Huntsmen, Huntresses…tch-tch."

The yellow-haired girl, that the members of Team SWRD heard was called 'Yang', rolled her eyes.

"Individuals sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves," Professor Port said, "From what you ask? Why, the very world!"

"Hey, yeah!" some random student cheered.

"That is what you're training to become. But first, a story, a tale of a young, handsome man…me," Professor Port said.

The class listened to Professor Port's barely understandable story (which lasted at least an hour), except for the fact that Team SWRD was happy to hear a story. They also watched the white-haired girl named 'Weiss' battle a boar-like Grimm, which was probably the high point of the class.

"That Weiss girl didn't really seem to like her leader very much," Danielle said as they left the class.

"I agree," Rachael said.

"You know what, guys?" Samuel asked, "I've been thinking."

"About what?" Danielle asked.

"The whole thing about Huntsmen and Huntresses," Samuel said, "We didn't come here for that, and that's the purpose of the school; to train the next generation of Remnant's protectors. But we came to protect ourselves, not to protect others."

"So…we're technically lying then, aren't we?" William asked.

"Yeah," Rachael said, "I didn't realize that until now."

"Then, guys, I think we should start acting the part," Samuel said.

"What do you mean by that?" Danielle asked, "Act like we want to be Huntsmen and Huntresses?"

"I mean that we do what we're supposed to be doing here," Samuel said, "Train to be Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"Then we've got a big job ahead of us," Danielle said.

"And I hope we're up to the task," Rachael said.

"As long as Samuel is leading us, we'll be fine," William said.

"Yeah…fine," Samuel thought to himself, "There's no way I'm ready to be a leader."


	9. Milk and CFVY

A buzzer went off as Cardin Winchester readied this mace to deal the final blow to the blond boy named 'Jaune Arc'.

"That's enough," Glynda Goodwitch said as the lights turned back on in the meeting area, "Students, as you can see Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and the official may call the match. Mr. Arc it's been weeks now, please try to refer to your Scroll during combat, gauging your Aura will help you to decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it is better to move to a more…defensive strategy."

Jaune sighed.

"We wouldn't want to be gobbled up by a Beowulf, now would we?" Glynda Goodwitch asked.

"Speak for yourself," Cardin said walking off of the stage.

"Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away, it won't be long until students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale."

The school bell rang and the students left the meeting area.

"Well, at least we know that we're not the only ones who can't fight here," Rachael said.

"I'm sure he was trying his best, cut him some slack," Samuel said.

"You know what I want?" William asked, "Somebody to cut me some pieces of juicy meat."

"Well, lunch is soon, so I'm sure you'll get your chance," Danielle said.

The foursome made their way to the cafeteria and grabbed their lunches.

"Wow, it all looks so good," Samuel said.

"How about we stop looking at it and dig in?" William asked.

The foursome were only halfway through with lunch when they heard a familiar laugh. It was Cardin and the other Team CRDL members picking on a female rabbit Faunas.

"What's going on over there?" Samuel asked.

Cardin grabbed the rabbit Faunas' ears and began to pull on them.

"Ow, that hurts!" the Faunas exclaimed as the team CRDL members laughed their heads off, "Please, stop."

"Ha, ha, ha, I told you it was real," Cardin said.

"What a freak," one of the team members said.

Cardin let go of the Faunas' ears and she walked off.

"That's not right," Danielle said, "Samuel?"

"Hmm?" Samuel asked.

"Do you want to go help her out?" Danielle asked.

"Sure, why not?" Samuel said.

The foursome picked up their lunch trays and walked over to the table that the rabbit Faunas sat down at.

"May we sit down here?" Samuel asked.

"Um…sure?" the Faunas said.

The foursome sat down at the table.

"So, what's your name?" Samuel asked.

"My name is Velvet," the Faunas known as 'Velvet' nervously replied, "What're your names?"

"My name is Samuel North, I'm the…leader of Team SWRD," Samuel replied.

"I'm Danielle Riki," Danielle said.

"I'm called William Claw," William said.

"I'm Rachael, Samuel's twin sister," Rachael said.

"I see that most of you are Faunas," Velvet said, "It's nice to see a human get along so well with those who are…different."

"They're my childhood friends," Samuel said, "I don't care about whether somebody's a human or a Faunas. I don't judge by what you are, but by who you are."

"I wish there were more people like your kind in the world," Velvet said.

"Velvet, there you are," a girl with a beret and dark sunglasses said approaching the table.

"Hi, Coco," Velvet said.

"Who're talking to, are they giving you trouble?" the girl known as 'Coco' asked.

"No, not at all," Velvet said, "These are the members of Team SWRD."

"Nice to meet you," Coco said.

"Likewise," Samuel said, "What team are you guys a part of?"

"Team CFVY, pronounced 'coffee'," Coco said, "I'm the leader."

"Team CFVY, huh?" Samuel asked, "Interesting team name."

"So, what's your story?" Coco asked.

"Well, we came to Beacon to learn how to fight," Samuel said hiding some, but not all, of the truth, "And then we decided that we wanted to become Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"The usual story," Coco said.

"What about you four?" Samuel asked.

"It depends on who you ask," Coco said, "It's different for all of us; we all met in the Emerald Forest last year. Oh, I almost forgot to introduce the others."

Coco waved her hand in direction of a brown-skinned man with dark red hair and an Asian, black-haired man.

"These are Fox and Yatsuhashi," Coco said.

"I see," Samuel replied, "So you're second-year students?"

Danielle looked at Velvet, who had finished her lunch and was tinkering with what appeared to be a camera and a box.

"What're you doing?" Danielle asked.

"I'm working on my biggest achievement," Velvet said, "But I'll show everybody what it is when the time comes."

"Do you mind if I help?" Danielle asked.

"Not at all," Velvet said, "Could you hand me that G5 microchip?"

Later that day, after school, Team SWRD and Team CFVY met in the library for a chat.

"And then we all found out we were on the same team," Coco said.

"That's cool," Rachael said, "But I doubt it tops our story."

"Oh, and what's the story of how you became a team?" Coco asked.

"Well, it all started when we entered the entrance exam, we passed it, along with a girl named 'Blake Belladonna'." Rachael said.

"Blake?" Velvet asked, "She's a friend of mine."

"Really?" Rachael asked, "She's on team RWBY now, isn't she?"

"Yes," Velvet said.

"Continuing off of what Rachael said; when we took part in the initiation, Samuel flew into the air screaming like a little girl and Danielle had to go in and save him," William said.

"Dude!" Samuel said.

"Then Rachael and I were partnered up. And when Samuel and Danielle ran into us, we made our way to the forest temple," William continued.

"This is where the story gets crazy," Rachael said.

"When we got there, we grabbed the white pawn pieces and an evil organization with an army of robots attacked us, we only survived because of Max Sentinel's arrival and Danielle's 'electric' plan," William said, "And then we were united as Team SWRD."

"Do you know the name of the organization that attacked you?" Coco asked.

"They go by the name 'The Black Talon'," Danielle said, "We heard about them before."

"I remember that name," Coco said, "I heard a story about them and how they hate Faunas. They're kind of like a reverse of The White Fang."

"Who're The White Fang?" Rachael asked.

"They're a group of Faunas who're devoted to wiping out humanity," Velvet said, "I'm surprised you don't know who they are."

"We're not from any of the kingdoms," Samuel said, "So we didn't get all of the big stories that appear on the news."

"I guess that makes sense," Coco said just before glancing at the nearby wall clock, which said it was 8:45 P.M., "We should all head to our dorms; it's getting late."

"Wow, time flies when you make friends," Samuel said.

"Yeah," Velvet said, "It was nice meeting you all."

"Same here," Samuel said.

As the teams went to their respective dorms, The Black Talon was plotting.

"Commander Coros," the masked man said, "I have your next set of orders."

"What is it, sir?" Coros asked.

"You are to head to the Forest of Forever Fall," the masked man said, "Our base there will be the starting point for our attack on Vale in two weeks."

"Why do you wish to attack such a strong target?" Coros asked, "It seems foolish."

"I've been amassing an army there," the masked man said, "And when you see it, you will know that this plan is far from foolish."

"I hope so," Coros said, "But I will do as you command."

"Also, we may be teaming up with one of the local crime bosses," the masked man said, "A snappy dresser named 'Roman Torchwick'."

"Why would you need to work with him?" Coros asked, "What could he possibly offer us?"

"He is looking for soldiers, we are looking for raw power," the masked man said, "So we think that combining our forces should give both of us the edge we need."

"I will leave immediately," Coros said.

Coros left the room.

"If you disappoint me again, you will regret it," the masked man said.


	10. A Sappy Mistake

"Attention, students," Glynda Goodwitch said on the stage in the Meeting Area.

All of the students stopped their chatter.

"I have an announcement," Glynda Goodwitch said, "We have a field trip tomorrow, to the Forest of Forever Fall, so you must all be prepared."

"The Forest of Forever Fall?" Samuel asked, "What's that?"

"It's a forest that resembles the fall season year-round," Fox said.

"So make sure you all get some rest," Glynda Goodwitch said, "You are all dismissed."

The school bell rang and the students left the Meeting Area.

"A field trip," Rachael said, "We haven't been on one before."

"Really?" Velvet asked, "That's hard to believe."

"Our school was different," Rachael said, "Not nearly as cool as this place."

"So, Velvet, how's your project coming along?" Danielle asked.

"It's going well," Velvet replied, "Thanks for asking."

The two teams came to an intersection, turned to the right and ran into Max Sentinel.

"Hey, Max," Samuel said.

Max's sign said: "Hello, Team SWRD, I see you made some new friends."

"Yeah, this is team CFVY; we met them two weeks ago." Samuel replied, "They're cool."

The words: "Interesting. So, are you all ready for the field trip?" appeared on the sign.

"Yeah," Samuel said.

"We're ready," Coco said.

The sign now read "I have some news for you, I'm going to be chaperoning the second-year teams on the field trip, your team and Team CFVY included."

"Wait, we're a first-year team, what are we doing with the second-year teams?" Danielle asked.

Max's sign's screen now said "Glynda Goodwitch said that she had too many students on her hands, so she assigned you four to me."

"I guess that's cool," Rachael said, "Now we can talk with you guys some more."

Max changed his sign's words to "I hope to see you there."

The two teams made their way to their respective dorm rooms.

"Who here is excited for the field trip?" Rachael asked her teammates.

"I am," William said.

"Me too," Samuel said.

Danielle was being quiet.

"Danielle, are you listening?" Samuel asked.

"Huh?" Danielle asked, "Oh, yeah, I'm excited too."

"Danielle, what's on your mind?" Samuel asked.

"I'm just…I'm thinking about The Black Talon," Danielle said, "They've been searching for us for seven years, and now they've found us."

"Yeah, so?" Samuel asked.

"I don't think they'll stop at anything to eliminate us," Danielle said, "And that worries me."

"How so?" Rachael asked.

"They won't care about innocents caught in the crossfire," Danielle said.

"That reminds me of what Professor Port said a while back," Samuel said, "He said that Huntsmen and Huntresses were made to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"That didn't help at all," Danielle said, "You just told me that this is going to be much harder than I originally thought."

"No…I mean that…" Samuel said.

"Besides, we're not Huntsmen or Huntresses," Danielle said, "We're just a group of runaways."

"Okay, we're not exactly runaways, but I get the gist of what you're saying." Samuel said, "You've got a point, Danielle, but just because we haven't graduated, doesn't mean that we can't protect people."

"I get what you're saying," Danielle said, "But it doesn't make me feel any better."

"Here, Danielle, how about you try to sleep the idea away?" Samuel asked, "We all need the rest anyways."

Danielle fell asleep minutes later; and she finally stopped thinking about the problem of not being able to protect people. And everything was calm until morning.

"Guys, wake up!" Rachael said.

Danielle opened her eyes and saw that it was now morning.

"That night flew by," Danielle thought.

"Come on, Danielle," Rachael said, "The field trip starts in an hour, so get ready."

After getting ready for the day, the foursome made their way to the courtyard.

"Hey, Team CFVY," Samuel said waving to their friends.

"Hello," Velvet replied.

"Good morning, students," Glynda Goodwitch said standing in front of a transport ship, "As all of you know, we're having a field trip to the Forest of Forever Fall. The students will be divided by which grade you're in. That being said, First-year students will go with me. Second-year students will go with Max Sentinel, Third-year students are with Professor Port and Fourth-year students are to be with Professor Oobleck."

The three other teachers mentioned by Goodwitch boarded the transport.

"All students must board the transport," Glynda Goodwitch said.

The students boarded the transport and it went off to the Forest of Forever Fall, when they landed, teams SWRD and CFVY joined up with Max Sentinel.

"This place is beautiful," Rachael said.

"Max, what are we looking for here?" a second-year student asked.

Max's sign changed to say "Your objective here is to collect one jar of red tree sap per student; I'm here to make sure that the Grimm here don't kill any of you."

"Come on, team," Coco said, "Let's go find some sap."

"Is it fine if we tag along with you guys?" William asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Coco said, "The more the merrier."

The two teams found a large cluster of red trees and started collecting the sap.

"This stuff smells great," William said, almost drooling over the sap.

"Uh…William, are you okay?" Rachael asked.

"He's a bear Faunas," Danielle said, "And bears really like sweet stuff."

"Go get your own sap, William," Rachael said hiding her jar of sap from William, "I don't like the way you're eying my jar."

Danielle's and Velvet's ears twitched.

"Did you hear that?" Danielle asked.

"No, what was it?" Samuel asked.

"It sounded like something…mechanical," Velvet said.

"Mechanical?" Coco asked, "Nobody lives in these woods."

"I think I see something," Rachael said, pointing to a shadow amongst the trees.

"Who is that?" Samuel asked.

The two teams got closer to the shadow and saw that it was one of the robot soldiers from the Emerald Forest.

"The Black Talon?" Samuel asked, "What are they doing here?"

"The Black Talon? Aren't they the ones who attacked you back in the Emerald Forest?" Velvet asked.

"Yes," Samuel said, "You four go get Max Sentinel; we'll track this robot back to its base."

"Okay, good luck," Coco said as she and her team ran off to get Max Sentinel.

"We can't lose this target," Samuel said, "We owe The Black Talon for our troubled past."

The foursome followed the robot around, almost being spotted once or twice, until they came to a huge cliff face.

"What's the robot doing here?" Samuel asked.

The robot turned side-to-side, to make sure nobody was around, and pressed a segment of the cliff face in and a hidden door opened up.

"What?" the foursome asked.

The robot went into the base and the door closed behind him.

"We have to go in and see what's going on," Samuel said.

"We should leave a marker for Team CFVY and Max," Danielle said.

"None of us happen to be carrying a pen around," William said.

"I got an idea, we can use the red tree sap to mark the door and the button," Rachael said.

The foursome marked the door and button with the sap and wrote the words "Secret door, press button to open" on the wall.

"Let's head on in," Samuel said.

"But remember, be cautious," Danielle said.

William pressed the button, and then they went through the door, Samuel first, Danielle second, Rachael third and William last. The door closed behind the foursome and left the hall they entered completely black.

"I can't see anything," Samuel said, "Could you guys help me out here?"

"Take my hand," Danielle said, "We'll lead you through this."

The foursome made their way down the hall and entered a brightly lit up room that was as big as an industrial warehouse, and it was filled with robot soldiers, crudely-designed mechsuits, many militaristic vehicles and human workers.

"What is this?" William asked as the group hid behind some metal boxes.

"I don't know," Rachael said, "But we need to get out of here."

"I didn't see any exit switch, so I think that that is hidden too," Danielle said.

"I just hope the others find us before these guys do," Samuel said.

"Uh…yeah…about that…" William said.

"What did you do?" the others asked.

"I ate the tree sap!" William loudly whispered.

"What?!" the others asked.

"I couldn't help it!" William whispered, "You can't trust me with guarding food or with not eating sweets."

"Great," Samuel said, "Now we're trapped and on our own, 'best' field trip ever."


	11. A World of Forever Fall

"Max, Max Sentinel!" Velvet called out.

Max Sentinel turned around and looked at team CFVY.

"We were collecting the sap as instructed and we found a Black Talon robot soldier, team SWRD decided to track it down," Yatsuhashi said.

"We think that something sinister is happening in the Forever Fall forest," Coco said.

Max's sign changed and now said "Lead the way."

Meanwhile, back in the secret base, Commander Coros was preparing to meet with Roman.

"If he doesn't hurry, he will be late," Coros said to himself.

A man with red-orange hair, dressed in a long, white coat; black pants; and a black bowler hat with a red band walked into the room, carrying a metal cane with him.

"Hello, sir," the man said, "I assume you already know who I am?"

"Roman Torchwick, a pretty boy slash crime boss," Coros said, "Tch, I was expecting more."

"Look, your boss told me to come, so I dragged my butt here to chat," the man known as 'Roman Torchwick' said, "So let's chat."

"You said you needed soldiers, is that right?" Coros asked.

"Why else would I be here?" Torchwick asked, "And you said something about needing raw power, is that right?"

"Don't try to be funny," Coros said, "Try to at least act serious."

"Look, buddy, chats like these take time," Torchwick said, "Vale wasn't built in one night."

"But it can be torn down in one," Coros said, "And if we work together, we can do it faster than that. So stay focused on the negotiations."

"Fine," Torchwick groaned.

"So, you say that you can give us raw power, how so?" Coros asked.

"Funny you should ask," Torchwick said, "Neo, could you come here please?"

A girl with bright white skin; half-pink, half-brown hair; two different colored eyes, one pink and one brown; and a pink umbrella walked into the room carrying a briefcase which she handed to Torchwick.

"This is what I mean by 'raw power'," Torchwick said as he opened the briefcase which contained crystals and cylindrical canisters of many different colors.

"Dust and Dust Crystals," Coros said, "Water, Fire, Lighting, Energy, Gravity and so many others, yes Dust is a true source of raw power."

"I have a lot back in my warehouse in Vale," Torchwick said, "This is just a…small sample."

"Interesting," Coros said, "But I still don't see a reason to trust you."

"Then how about I take all of these goodies to that other group, what were they called again?" Torchwick asked rhetorically, "Oh yeah, the White Fang."

"I see, so we either join up with you or those…diseases join up with you," Coros said, "You know how to win an argument, you've got yourself a partnership."

"Put it there," Torchwick said putting his right hand forward.

Coros just stood there.

"Oh, I guess you're not the 'handshake type'," Torchwick said, "That's cool."

"Commander Coros!" a soldier yelled running into the room.

"What is it?" Coros asked.

"Those kids from the Emerald Forest are here!" the soldier said.

"What?" Coros asked, "How did they find us?"

"We don't know, but they're holed up near the entrance," the soldier said, "We've got them pinned down, but they're not surrendering."

"Great," Coros said, "Tell the men to keep attacking, I'm on my way."

Coros was about to leave the room when he remembered the briefcase filled with Dust Crystals and canisters.

"May I take this?" Coros asked, pointing at the briefcase.

"It was part of the deal, so yes," Torchwick said.

Coros pulled a magnum out, popped the magazine out and replaced it with a fire Dust canister. Coros also grabbed a canister of each type of Dust and put them on the clips that were on his belt.

"Torchwick, would you mind lending a hand?" Coros asked.

"I'm only helping you because I don't want to have our plans foiled," Torchwick replied, "Come along, Neo."

Coros, Torchwick and Neo Politan left the room while team SWRD was fighting for their lives.

"Did you find the exit button yet!?" Samuel asked.

"No," Rachael replied from down the hall, "They did a good job of hiding it."

"Forget about the button," William said walking into the hall, "I'll ram that door down."

"I don't think that's such a…" Rachael said before William began to charge.

Rachael pressed up against the wall as William smashed into the door and fell backwards.

"…good idea." Rachael finished, "That door's made of a super-strong metal alloy."

"Both of you get over here, now!" Samuel said, "We need to hold these guys off until team CFVY arrives…if they do."

Torchwick, Coros and Neo Politan came out into the battlefield and saw at least one-hundred robots and a few human soldiers attacking the boxes and other things that team SWRD was hiding behind.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Torchwick said, "Do your men always do so pathetic in battle?"

"Grr…" Coros growled.

"Okay, too soon," Torchwick said.

Team SWRD noticed that their cover was beginning to fall apart.

"We can't stay here much longer," Rachael said, "We'll have no cover within the next minute."

"Danielle, any ideas?" William asked.

"Don't ask me, I'm not the leader," Danielle said, "Samuel is. Besides, I'm fresh out of ideas."

"But, Danielle, you make a much better leader than I do," Samuel said, "Take the Emerald Forest for example, or the entry exam, it was your strategy that saved us."

"That was before you were elected team leader," Danielle said, "Now; remember our talk about doing what we came here to do?"

"Become Huntsmen and Huntresses since that's what the school is for?" Samuel asked.

"Yes, our goals changed when we learned about the school's purpose," Danielle said, "And your position changed when Ozpin assigned you as our leader. So lead."

"Thanks for that," Samuel said from the bottom of his heart, "Now, what to do?"

Samuel poked his head out from behind the metal crates and observed the area.

"I think I've got an idea," Samuel said.

"What is it?" Danielle asked.

"Listen closely," Samuel said.

Back outside, team CFVY arrived at the place they left team SWRD.

"Where do you think they went?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"I don't know," Coco said.

Max Sentinel made his sign say "I know where they are."

"Really?" Velvet asked, "How?"

The sign's words changed to "Trade secret, follow me."

Meanwhile, Coros' forces were about to destroy team SWRD's cover.

"They're almost through," Coros said.

Samuel finished explaining the plan to his teammates.

"Everybody got it?" Samuel asked.

"Just lead the way," Danielle said.

"Ready, Rachael?" Samuel asked.

"Bro, you know I've been ready," Rachael said.

"Okay," Samuel said, "Go! Go! Go!"

Samuel and Rachael ran out from behind the crates and began to gun down the robot soldiers, diverting their attention away from the crates, and Danielle and William.

"William, now!" Samuel said as he and Rachael took positions that flanked the enemy forces.

"Coming through!" William yelled as he jumped up, landed, caused a small earthquake that knocked all of Coros' forces over (except the mechsuits) and then he began to slice through the robot soldiers.

"Danielle, as soon as William gets to cover, you know what to do!" Samuel said.

William jumped up onto a cargo container that was hanging from the ceiling and then Danielle hopped out from behind the cover and torched the robots with her flamethrower.

"That does it," Coros said, "I'm handling this myself."

"I'm telling you, Neo, kids are getting weirder and weirder," Torchwick said, "We might as well help the sorry fool."

Coros, Torchwick and Neo walked onto the battlefield as the last of the robot soldiers fell while the human soldiers ran for cover.

"Hold it right there!" Samuel said, "We have you surrounded."

The three team members that were on the ground aimed their ranged weapons at the three villains.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Torchwick said, "You don't have to be so hasty about this."

Suddenly, the cargo container's cable was severed and the container, and William, fell right onto Coros, Neo and Torchwick, crushing them.

"What happened?!" Rachael asked, "William!"

"I didn't do it, I swear!" William said, "Somebody else severed the cable."

"Well, I guess that it's all over," Samuel said.

"Yeah," Danielle said, "Almost funny how easy it was."

Meanwhile, outside, team CFVY and Max Sentinel came to the cliff face.

"Are you sure they're in here?" Velvet asked.

Max nodded and began to search the wall for the hidden button.


	12. A Coros-ive Situation (Season 1 finale)

"At least it's all over," William said.

Suddenly, a flare flew through the air, hit the container and sent William flying.

"William!" Rachael said coming to her friend's side, "Are you alright?"

"Wha-ha-ha!" a voice, which sounded exactly like Torchwick's, cried out.

The team looked up at where the flare came from and saw Torchwick, who was unscathed.

"Wait, what?" Rachael asked, "You were crushed!"

"It's amazing how many people think that illusions are the real thing," Torchwick said.

Without delay, after Torchwick finished, Coros came out from behind the crates and kicked Danielle over while Neo floated over Rachael and William, thanks to her umbrella.

"Guys!" Samuel said running over to aid his friends, but he was stopped by one of Torchwick's cane's projectiles.

"Not so fast, kiddo," Torchwick said, "I haven't even had a turn yet."

"Ragh!" Samuel said as he turned his assault rifle into a nightstick and charged at Torchwick.

The cane and nightstick clashed multiple times.

"You're just a bunch of kids," Torchwick said, "You can't stop a threat this big."

"Well we can try, can't we?" Samuel asked.

"You've got spirit," Torchwick said, "I hate that."

"Ungh!" Danielle grunted as she got kicked back by Coros.

"So, you're the leader, right?" Coros asked.

"No, that would be Samuel," Danielle said getting up.

"That sorry excuse for a human? Bwa-ha-ha!" Coros scoffed, "The only reason I don't call him a Faunas is because his DNA says otherwise."

"Why, you little…" Danielle said just before running at Coros, holding her sniper rifle like a club.

"At ease," Coros said as he shot Danielle's legs with an Ice Dust bullet, freezing her to the ground.

Coros loaded a Fire Dust canister into his magnum and aimed it at Danielle's head.

"And now to finish what we started so many years ago," Coros said.

Rachael was shaking William's head back and forth.

"William, get up!" Rachael said, "We need our muscle!"

Neo Politan landed on the ground and twirled her umbrella around.

"I guess waking up William will have to wait," Rachael said.

Rachael aimed her pistols at Neo and fired, but Neo's umbrella blocked them.

"Wow, that's a heck of an umbrella," Rachael said.

Rachael charged towards Neo, turned her pistols into knives and tried to cut through Neo's umbrella. But Neo pulled a blade out of the top her umbrella and used both of her weapons to block Rachael's knives.

"Grr," Rachael said.

Rachael used her Semblance quickly run behind Neo and tried to get a quick hit in, but when she did so, Neo shattered.

"What?!" Rachael asked.

Suddenly, Rachael was hit in the back by Neo's umbrella.

"Clever little…" Rachael said just before getting hit by Neo again.

"Do you really think that you can stop all of this?" Torchwick asked as his cane pushed against Samuel's nightstick.

"No," Samuel said, "Not alone."

"But you are alone," Torchwick said.

"No, look behind you," Samuel said.

"If you think I'm going to fall for that million year old trick, you've got another thing…" Torchwick said moments before a big, brown, gloved hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Hello," William said.

"Oh crud," Torchwick said.

William threw Torchwick into a pile of nearby crates.

"Nice job, buddy," Samuel said high-fiving his friend.

"You think you're all so clever," Torchwick said.

As soon as Torchwick finished, two of the mechsuits jumped over the crates that Torchwick was laying on.

"Well, that's just dandy," Samuel said.

Back with Coros, Danielle was about to get shot.

"How does it feel, knowing that you never stood a chance?" Coros asked.

"I don't know," Danielle said, "Because this fight isn't over yet."

Danielle hit Coros across the face with her flamethrower and then melted the ice with it.

"Why, you stinking, little annoyance," Coros said firing at Danielle, who effortlessly dodged the Fire Dust projectiles and then flew up to a high place, "Get back here, coward!"

Neo smiled as Rachael kept swinging at her and just not being able to land a hit.

"Stay still so I can smack that grin off of your face!" Rachael said.

"Rachael, want to switch dance partners?" Danielle said landing next to Rachael.

"Gladly," Rachael said, "My dance partner is boring me."

"Come here, you!" Coros said charging at Danielle, only to have Rachael shoot by his feet and make him stop.

"Just you and I now," Rachael said.

Neo swung her blade at Danielle, but she just dodged it.

"What are you anyway?" Danielle asked, "The ice cream company's mascot or something?"

Danielle shot her flamethrower at Neo; she blocked it with her umbrella. When the fire stopped, Neo saw that Danielle was gone.

"Up here," Danielle said.

Neo looked up, only to see Danielle use her Semblance to electrocute Neo, since umbrellas conduct electricity.

"Danielle, look out!" Samuel said.

A mechsuit charged at Danielle and knocked her down.

"Danielle!" Samuel said, "You'll pay for…"

One of the mechsuits hit Samuel so he landed near Danielle.

"Yagh!" William yelled as he jumped up and cut the left arm off of one of the mechsuits.

William got hit back by one of the mechsuits, but he got right back up and eyed the arm he cut off of one of the mechs.

"Need a hand?" William asked as he grabbed the severed arm and smashed the weapons on one of the mechs.

"Wow that joke was terrible," Torchwick said, "Wait a minute, I've got an idea."

"Why do I get to fight everybody but the leader?" Coros asked as he shot at Rachael with Ice Dust bullets.

"Because he's…" Rachael said just before looking at Samuel, "Unconscious."

Rachael saw that Torchwick was walking over to Samuel.

"Samuel!" Rachael cried.

Coros took advantage of the fact that Rachael wasn't looking, turned his magnum into a baton and used Lightning Dust to stun and knock Rachael unconscious.

Danielle used her Semblance again in an effort to defeat Neo, but Neo disappeared.

"What now?" Danielle asked.

Danielle turned around and saw Neo.

"Ragh!" Danielle said swinging her sniper rifle at Neo, but she vanished again to reveal Torchwick, who had his cane gun pointing right at Danielle.

"Goodnight," Torchwick said just before shooting and hitting Danielle with a flare, this knocked her unconscious, "Wow, this is getting too easy."

William seemed to be holding his own against the mechsuits, but they suddenly stopped fighting.

"What's going on?" William asked.

"Hey, bear boy," Torchwick said.

William turned towards Torchwick, Coros, and Neo and saw that they all had weapons aimed at his teammates.

"Now, you can either come quietly, or your friends' brains will be all over the place," Torchwick said.

William stood there, trying to figure out what to do.

"Fine, then you take both options," Torchwick said.

One of the mechsuits grabbed William in its huge hands.

"Say goodbye," Torchwick said aiming his cane at Samuel's head.

"No!" William cried.

"Hey!" a familiar voice cried out.

"What now?" Torchwick asked.

Torchwick, Coros, Neo and William looked at the base's entrance and saw team CFVY with Max Sentinel. Coco was holding her iconic purse/minigun.

"Who are these four?" Torchwick said, "And who's the midget?"

"You don't want to say that around him," William said.

"What, midget?" Torchwick said, "I'll call people what I want to, and there's nothing you can…"

Suddenly, Torchwick was kicked by Max Sentinel and flew into another stack of crates. Then Max promptly hit Coros away while Neo just ran back.

"Go, Max!" William cried just before the mechsuit tightened its grip.

"Hey, metal head!" Coco said.

The mechsuit turned towards team CFVY.

"Put our friend down, now," Coco said, "Or you'll regret it."

The mechsuit didn't put William; instead, it ran to team CFVY.

"Yatsuhashi," Coco said.

"On it," Yatsuhashi said.

Yatsuhashi leapt up and cut the mech's arms off, this freed William.

"Thanks, pal," William said, "You three, help the others, Yatsuhashi and I can take care of these mechs."

"Got it," Coco said, "Velvet, Fox, let's go."

The other three team CFVY members ran to team SWRD's aid while William and Yatsuhashi (well, at least William) had a lot of fun tearing the mechs apart.

"Samuel, are you okay?" Coco asked shaking Samuel's head back and forth, "Wake up!"

Coco slapped Samuel across the face.

"OW!" Samuel exclaimed, "That hurt."

"Good thing you're awake," Coco said as Danielle and Rachael got up, "Now let's take care of Coros."

The group looked at Max and the three bag guys, they could see that Max was kicking their butts.

"I think we can let Max take care of this," Samuel said.

Max hit Torchwick into a stone pillar.

"You know what, Neo?" Torchwick asked as his assistant came to his side, "I think that we're going to be recruiting the White Fang after all."

Torchwick and Neo ran out of the base while nobody was looking.

"Yagh!" Coros cried as he got hit by Max into a wall.

"Surrender, you're beaten," Samuel said as he, his teammates, Max and team CFVY surrounded Coros.

"This battle is far from over," Coros said, "I am merely a commander, I am nothing compared to my leader."

"So, who's this leader of yours?" Samuel asked.

"I am only going to tell you that his name is 'Vandal Black' because none of you will make it out of here alive with the information," Coros said moments before an alarm started blaring and all of the lights turned red.

Upon hearing the words 'Vandal Black' Max Sentinel bore a shocked expression.

"Base self-destruct, 30 seconds," a computer said.

"We have to get out of here!" Samuel said.

The two teams ran, but Max just stood there.

"What's wrong, old man?" Coros asked, "Too shocked at hearing who's behind it all?"

"Max, we need to go!" Samuel said coming to Max's side, "Now!"

Samuel and Coco dragged Max until they came to the exit door.

"Now what?!" Coco asked.

"Base self-destruct, 10 seconds," the computer said.

"Everybody, shoot the door down!" Samuel said.

Everybody pulled their weapons out (except Velvet), shot the door to pieces and ran outside just before the base blew to pieces on the inside (oddly, the mountain didn't fall apart).

"That was close," Velvet said.

"Yeah," Danielle said, "Too close."

"You know what?" Samuel asked, "I can't wait to get back to Beacon, I've had enough excitement for a long time."

"Yeah," Rachael said, "Let's pick up our jars, finish our project and make our way back to Beacon."

Max finally was moving again.

"Hey, Max, what went wrong, back in the base?" Samuel asked.

Max pulled out his sign, which now said "He's…he's a dangerous crime boss, I…I've heard of him before and the cruel things he's done."

"Yeah, so have we," Samuel said, "Come on, let's finish up here and head back to Beacon."

The two teams did what they originally came to do and made their way back to Beacon via transport ship. And when night came, the two teams went to their dorms and all of the members had a very well-deserved rest.


	13. Season 2 Teaser

"Sir, our base in the Forever Fall forest has fallen," a soldier said, "And Roman Torchwick abandoned us to go work with the White Fang."

"That is very unfortunate," the masked man we all now know as 'Vandal Black' said, "And what of our forces?"

"All of our human personnel escaped, many are injured; all of our robot soldiers and mechsuits there were wrecked, but they may be salvageable," the soldier said.

"And what of Commander Coros?" Vandal Black asked.

"He's recovering," the soldier said, "But he came back with very serious injuries. It is a miracle he survived."

"Not when I'm through with him, then he'll wish he had died in the explosion," Vandal Black said.

"Do you want me to take you to him?" the soldier asked.

"Fine," Vandal Black said.

The soldier led Vandal Black to Commander Coros' quarters, where a bloody, beaten Commander Coros was laying on a medical bed.

"Leave us," Vandal said to the soldier.

The soldier left and closed the door behind him.

"So Coros," Vandal said, "How goes your recovery?"

"Not very well," Coros said, "Considering I had half a mountain fall on me."

"You're exaggerating," Vandal said, "You were merely crushed by some metal beams."

"Yeah," Coros said, "I owe those bratty kids, their friends and that midget of a teacher."

"Who exactly defeated you?" Vandal asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Those kids and the teacher I battled back in the Emerald Forest," Coros said, "They had some help. But those kids are much stronger than when I fought them a few weeks back."

"Interesting," Vandal said, "So, Torchwick abandoned the negotiations?"

"We had him on our side until Max Sentinel and those kids' friends came in," Coros said, "Then he just ran out."

"Well, this is your biggest failure yet," Vandal said, "And I don't like failure."

"Don't worry," Coros said, "I will do better next time."

"I hope so," Vandal said, "Because you fail me again, and I may just kill you. But this time, you will suffer."

"What do you mean?" Coros asked.

A few weird robots entered the room with a tray that had many surgical tools and robot parts.

"This is what I mean," Vandal said, "Begin the procedure."

"Wait, no, please no!" Coros begged as the robots drew closer and Vandal left the room, shutting the door behind him, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"


	14. The Elite Squad (Season 2 Premier)

Here's Season 2 everybody!

"Did the soldiers arrive?" a security guard asked.

"Yeah, I don't get what's with all of the Atlas soldiers coming into Vale," another guard replied, "I mean, it's not like we're under attack or anything."

"Well, whatever it is," the first guard said, "It can't be good."

Suddenly, the guards heard something clanking a distance away.

"Did you hear that?" the first guard asked.

"Yep, let's check it out," the second replied.

Both of the guards walked by a bunch of crates containing weapons, Dust, and other stuff from Atlas, while searching for anything out of the ordinary.

 _Tink! Clink!_

"There it is again," the first said, "What is it?"

"I don't know, stay sharp," the second said.

Minutes later, a man in a cloak; an African-American woman wearing an outfit that resembled a body glove and light body armor; a teenage, American girl dressed in a black very-short-sleeved top and white pants, also having pure black hair; and an Australian man in a fancy outfit that appeared to be designed for battle, walked out from behind a bunch of the warehouse's crates.

"What are you doing here?" one of the guards asked, "This is a restricted area."

"Oh, I'm sorry, we must've taken a wrong turn back there," the girl in the black and white outfit said, "I'm terribly sorry."

"We were just wondering where we could find all of the high-tech goodies," the girl in body armor said.

"Stay right where you are," one of the guards said, "Get on the ground and put your hands where we can see them!"

"Mates, mates, we have no reason to be so brash about things, do we?" the Australian man asked.

"On the ground, hands up!" both guards said.

"Fine," the man in the cloak said, "We'll do this the hard way."

The man pulled the cloak off, revealing a dark grey military-styled uniform; a robot arm and metal backpack.

"What the…!?" the first guard asked.

"We have hostiles in the warehouse; repeat, we have hostiles in the…!" the second guard said just before he and his buddy got shot with a burst of Fire Dust.

An alarm started to blare and a bunch of guards began to make their way to where the transmission came from.

"This'll be so much fun!" the girl in the contrasting-color clothing cheered happily as her hair turned to a pure white color.

All of the guards surrounded the four villains.

"Hands up!" a guard said, "We've got you surrounded!"

Without a word, the man with the robot arm threw a ball at the ground that sent smoke everywhere.

"Fire, fire!" a guard said.

A flurry of bullets flew into the middle of the circle of guards, but when the smoke cleared, the four troublemakers were gone.

"Everybody, split up; search the warehouse!" a guard said.

The guards divided into four groups of about ten each and began to search the warehouse.

"Keep your eyes open, men," a commanding officer said.

Abruptly, the girl in the white and black clothing walked out of some nearby shadows.

"Don't try any funny stuff!" a guard said, pointing his gun at the girl.

"Jeez, you don't have to be so direct," the girl said in a gloomy voice.

The girl pulled out a cylinder that made a three foot long beam of white light.

"Fire!" a guard said.

The girl blocked the incoming bullets with her Light Blade and then ran at the soldiers as her hair turned white.

"Be ready!" a guard said.

Suddenly, an extremely bright light came forth, nearly blinding the guards.

"Cover your eyes!" a guard said.

The Light Blade turned black, so it was the only thing that could be seen, and cut through all of the soldier's weapons.

"Where is she!?" a guard asked.

Moments later, the area turned pitch-black, the guards opened their eyes.

"She's blinded us!" a guard said.

But the soldiers saw white lasers fly at, and kill, them.

"And so the end will come for us all," the girl said in her gloomy voice, her hair turning black.

Elsewhere in the warehouse, another squad of guards was looking for the intruders.

"Keep a sharp eye out, men," a guard said.

Suddenly, a large boomerang that looked like it was made of two swords flew by the guards, turned around and was caught by the woman that had the light body armor.

"Open fire!" a guard said.

The woman split the boomerang into two swords and her body appeared to turn into a metal substance. All of the bullets just bounced off of the woman's cold, metal skin.

"She's unstoppable!" a guard said.

The woman saw a puddle under her, and when she stepped in it, her body became water, but she had her same figure and everything else.

"What is she?" a guard asked.

The woman sprayed water all over the guards and knocked them down.

"You needed to cool off," the woman said as she walked towards the guards with her swords.

Meanwhile, another group of guards was already engaged in combat with the Australian man.

"Come on, mates," the man said, "Can't we talk 'bout this?"

The guards just shot more bullets towards the Australian man, but they all missed.

"Alright then," the man said, "Important men like me almost never do the dirty work, but that don't mean we can't do it."

The guards suddenly began to float up into the air.

"What's going on?" a guard asked.

The man pulled a large sledgehammer off of his back, ran at the floating guards, jumped up and hit them all into the ground.

"Why can't we get up?" a guard asked.

"I feel so heavy," a guard moaned.

"Can't take the gravity of the situation?" the man asked, floating in the air as his sledgehammer turned into a missile rack, "Too bad."

The missile rack fired at all of the guards.

The three villains all regrouped in the middle of the warehouse a little later.

"Where's the last fourth of us?" the woman asked.

Suddenly, the fourth group of guards ran into the clearing.

"There they are!" a guard said, "Open fire!"

The guards were suddenly blown away by a big dark-purple burst that the man who was part robot fired.

"Commander Coros, there you are!" the girl cheered.

"Luminous," the cyborg who it turns out is Commander Coros, "Did you, Platinum and Graviton take care of the rest?"

"Yes we did, mate," the man now known as 'Graviton' said, "All soldiers not present and unaccounted for."

"I still don't get what we're doing here," the woman now known as 'Platinum' said, "The Atlas soldiers already pulled out of the warehouse."

"Yeah, I mean we, like, took all of the soldiers out for, like, no reason," the girl now known as 'Luminous' groaned.

"The soldiers pulled out, not their other forces," Commander Coros said, "Follow me."

The three other bad guys followed the cyborg Coros to a large area filled with high-tech mechsuits and vehicles.

"Inform the Black Talon that we've succeeded in our operations," Coros said.

"Got it, mate," Graviton said.

"Pretty soon, our forces will be able to eliminate our enemies, with no effort," Platinum said.

"So, are we ready to attack yet?" Luminous asked in a cheery voice, "Because I'm ready."

"No, first, our efforts are to be directed on those kids from, uh, what was their team name again?" Graviton asked.

"Team SWRD," Coros said, "I believe that they're preparing for our next move."

Meanwhile, team SWRD was doing the opposite of what Coros thought.

Rachael woke up and the first thing she heard was William's snoring that sounded like thunder.

"Geez," Rachael moaned, "I thought that a storm was rolling through."

Rachael looked around and saw Danielle tinkering with Samuel's weapon.

"Danielle, where's Samuel?" Rachael asked.

"He's hanging out with team CFVY at the dock," Danielle said.

"Thanks," Rachael said, "I'll wake up William so we can all go down to them."

Teams CFVY and Samuel were conversing on the dock.

"Oh, really?" Samuel asked.

"Yeah," Velvet replied.

"Hey, guys!" Rachael said running to the dock, "What's going on?"

"Team CFVY gave me some…big news," Samuel said.

"Oh, what is it?" Rachael asked.

"We're going off on a mission," Velvet said, "We're going to be gone for a week or so."

"Team CFVY, time to leave," a transport's pilot said.

"So…wish us luck," Yatsuhashi said.

The team boarded the transport and it flew off.

"Wow, that was sudden," William said.

"Yeah…" Samuel said.

"Hey, Samuel," Danielle said, "I think I can cheer you up."

"Hmm?" Samuel asked.

Danielle handed Samuel his weapon.

"I made a few modifications to your weapon," Danielle said, "I made it so that if you put dust in the side without the blade, the dust will form a sword's blade; this should help you in battle."

"Thanks, Danielle," Samuel said.

"So…do you guys have any ideas what to do?" Rachael asked, "I mean, our friends just left for a mission."

"Well," Samuel said, "I heard about the Vytal festival coming up soon, sounds pretty big."

"The Vytal festival?" William asked, "What's that?"

"I read about it in the school's library," Danielle said, "It's a huge festival that takes place once a year, the festival takes place in a different kingdom every year. This year, it's here in Vale."

"I guess we might as well spend our Saturday checking it out," Rachael said.

"Come on, let's get a transport and head on down," Samuel said.

Meanwhile, Max Sentinel and Ozpin were having a nice chat up in the tower.

"So, Max," Ozpin said, "I heard of the adventure you shared with teams CFVY and SWRD a few months ago."

Max Sentinel was standing in front of Ozpin's desk as his sign changed so it said "I knew it was only a matter of time."

"Yes, we both now know of the Black Talon's presence outside of Vale," Ozpin said, "But I was wondering if you knew the reason why the members of team SWRD and the Black Talon keep meeting."

The words on Max's sign now said "They have met before in the past."

"Interesting," Ozpin said, "I remember that you came to my school to teach classes as a substitute; but just before this school year started, you decided to become a full-fledged teacher. And I think I know why."

The words on Max's sign now looked like "I sense that those kids have potential, and since I know about the Black Talon hunting them down, I feel that it is my duty to protect them."

"I still feel like there is more to it than that," Ozpin said.

"Professor Ozpin, Ironwood is here," Glynda said looking out of the window and seeing a large military transport land at the dock.

"Okay," Ozpin replied getting up, "Thank you for your time, Max."

Max nodded and went down to the tower's ground floor via an elevator.


	15. Shattered SWRD

Back on the dock, Team SWRD was looking around for a ship.

"Nothing, all these ships landing all of the sudden and not one of the pilots is willing to take us down to Vale," Rachael said.

"I guess we could just hang out at the library or something," Samuel said.

"I guess," Rachael said.

The foursome left the docks and began the walk to the library.

"Hey, guys, have you heard about the dance coming up?" Rachael asked.

"Dance?" William asked, "What dance?"

"It's a part of the Vytal festival," Rachael said, "Do any of you have a date?"

"Uh…" Samuel said, "None of us heard about the dance. How did you?"

"I heard some of the other students talking about it," Rachael said, "So, about my previous question…"

"No," Samuel and William replied.

"Me neither," Rachael said.

Danielle wasn't speaking.

"Danielle, what's going on?" Samuel asked.

"I don't really have an interest in dancing," Danielle said.

"Really?" Samuel asked, "I remember that you would dance all of the time back home."

"That was then, this is now," Danielle said, "And now, I'm not in the mood for dancing."

Danielle walked on ahead.

"Okay…I guess she's out," William said.

The threesome followed Danielle to the library (everybody went to different parts in the library).

"Hmm, what's this about?" Samuel said pulling a book on the history of Remnant off of one of the shelves and seeing Max Sentinel's head through the slot where the book was.

Max lifted his head from the book he was reading, looked through the slot and walked around the shelves.

"Hello, Max," Samuel said, "How're you doing?"

Max pulled his sign out and it said "I'm fine, how about you?"

"We're doing well," Samuel replied.

Max's sign now said "I wish the same could be said for your grades. Your team has been falling behind, except for Danielle, she's still doing well."

"Yeah, well…we didn't exactly get the best of educations when we were younger," Samuel said.

The sign's words changed to "I see. So, have you all heard about the dance coming up?"

"Yes, we were actually talking about it on the way here," Samuel said.

The sign said "Have any of your teammates picked a date yet?"

"No," Samuel replied.

Max's sign changed to now say "Well, Samuel, I think Danielle would like to go."

"Except she doesn't like to dance," Samuel said, "And I would really want her to come…"

Max's sign suddenly said "With you I presume?"

"What?" Samuel asked, "Oh, uh…I guess that is the case."

Max changed the words on his sign to "Just go ask her to come, and if she doesn't accept, try something else."

"Okay, I guess that works," Samuel said, "See you around."

Max walked off and William approached Samuel.

"Hey, Samuel, there was something I wanted to ask you," William said, "About the dance?"

"You're not asking me to come with you, are you?" Samuel asked in a panic.

"What!?" William replied, "No! Don't be crazy!"

A nearby student shushed William.

"I was actually thinking about asking your sister," William said.

"Rachael?" Samuel asked, "Are you sure she'd want to go with you?"

"Well, I don't know," William said.

"Besides, I think that just being friends is good for you two," Samuel said.

"Wait, are you telling me that I can't ask your sister out?" William asked, "You're not her father."

"But I'm her brother," Samuel said, "And as her older brother, I feel that it is my duty to act as her guardian."

"You can't tell me what to do," William said.

"But I'm your team leader, so I actually can," Samuel said.

"You know, you seem different now, Samuel," William said, "Like being a leader has changed you…for the worse."

"How about you just let me lead?" Samuel asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

" _Pfft_ , now I think Danielle should have been chosen as leader," William said before walking off.

Meanwhile, Rachael and Danielle were having a conversation.

"So, Danielle, do you have any ideas who you're going to the dance with?" Rachael asked.

"No, not really," Danielle said.

"I know that my brother doesn't either," Rachael said, "Maybe the two of you could go together."

"What?" Danielle asked, "No, he's our leader. Besides, I think of him as just a friend."

"Then why did you save him so eagerly back in the Emerald Forest?" Rachael asked.

"Well—I—uh—I couldn't let him go 'splat'," Danielle said, "Besides, he doesn't have a semblance, so he can't land from a fall like that."

"Ri-i-i-ight," Rachael said.

Later that day, the foursome was getting ready for the next day.

"Man, the showers were being hogged for a while," Samuel thought, "I'm surprised I even got a turn."

Samuel approached his team's dorm, but he suddenly heard some kind of classical music or something playing from the room.

"What's that?" Samuel asked.

Samuel opened the door a little, poked his head through the gap and saw…Danielle dancing, and doing an amazing job at it.

"She's dancing?" Samuel thought, "But she said she doesn't like to."

Danielle was doing a nice, refined dance, like one you would expect at a rich person's party; without knowing that Samuel was watching.

"Wow…" Samuel thought, "She's amazing."

"What're doing, brother?" Rachael asked behind Samuel.

"Aah!" Samuel exclaimed as he fell forwards and the door swung open.

"Samuel!?" Danielle asked, "What are you doing?"

"Well…I…uh…" Samuel said.

"Were you spying on me?" Danielle asked.

"I heard the music playing and I wanted to know what was going on," Samuel said.

"In other words, you were spying on me," Danielle said.

"I'll leave this to you two," Rachael said moving back into the hallway.

William walked down the hall and came to Rachael.

"Hey, Rachael, I wanted to ask you something," William said.

"What is it?" Rachael asked.

"Oh, no, you're not asking my sister out!" Samuel said walking out of the room.

"Is that what you were going to ask?" Rachael asked.

"Why were you spying on me?" Danielle asked.

"Danielle, not now," Samuel said sternly, "William, we already talked about you asking Rachael, I said 'no'."

"Wait, you made a choice for me?" Rachael asked.

"Yes," Samuel said, "But I think it is my responsibility to take care of you, even if it means messing with your personal life."

"You don't need to make my choices for me," Rachael said, "I can make my own decisions. Besides, you're not my father."

"That's what I said!" William said.

"Not now," Samuel said, "As your team leader, I can make choices for you."

"Enough with this crud," William said, "I'm going to go spend the night outside, away from you."

"Yeah, me too," Rachael said.

Rachael and William stomped off, Danielle soon walked out of the dorm.

"Danielle, where are you going?" Samuel asked, grabbing Danielle's shoulder.

"Samuel, I used to think that you were the right choice for our leader," Danielle said, "But now, I think that mistakes were made."

"Why do you say that?" Samuel asked.

"Just look at the way you're acting," Danielle said, "Spying, making other's choices, disregarding friends. You're acting like a total jerk."

Danielle walked off, to join William and Rachael.

"Oh, Max, where are you when I need you?" Samuel asked.

Samuel thought about the choices he recently made as his team began to slowly abandon him.


	16. An Elite Encounter

"The heist was successful," Coros said.

"Excellent," Vandal Black said, "If only you performed so well back at the forest of Forever Fall."

"I admit, I failed then, but I will not now," Coros replied.

"I hope so," Vandal said, "At ease."

Vandal left the room.

"Feel free to do what you please until our next assignment," Coros said to his group.

"Sir, yes, sir," the three other villains from the heist replied.

Coros walked out and let his teammates do their business.

"You know, ever since Coros was put in charge of the Black Talon's Elite Guard, we haven't checked anything in the outside world…well…out," Platinum said.

"Hey, that gives me a heck of an idea," Graviton said.

"What is it?" Luminous excitedly asked with her hair glowing white.

"How about we go take care of those bratty kids from team SWRD for Coros?" Graviton suggested, "I'm sure we can take them."

"Yeah, they're just a bunch of runaways," Platinum said, "They shouldn't be any trouble."

"But, what do we do if Coros finds out?" Luminous asked as her hair turned black, "He's sure to get us in a whole lot of trouble…"

"Don't worry, Luminous," Graviton said, "If we make it quick, nobody will notice that we're gone."

"Okay then, let's get going," Platinum said.

The three elite guard members made their way to the base's hanger, grabbed a VTOL aircraft and took off.

"Set course for Vale," Graviton said as Platinum took the controls.

Sometime later at Beacon, Samuel was waking up.

"* _Yawn_ *…morning, team," Samuel said.

Samuel opened his eyes and saw that his teammates weren't in the room.

"Oh…yeah," Samuel said, "Now I remember what happened."

Samuel thought about last night, and how his team pretty much abandoned him.

"Well, it was their fault," Samuel said, "William should listen to orders, Danielle was accusing me of spying on her and Rachael didn't show respect for authority."

Samuel changed into his normal outfit and left the dorm, only to run into Max.

"Hi, Max," Samuel said.

Max's sign said "I heard about your team's fight."

"Oh…uh…yeah, but it's my team's fault, not mine," Samuel said.

The sign said "Really? I think that you take part in the fault."

"What?" Samuel asked, "Why do you say that?"

The sign now said "Well, you weren't giving your sister, nor William, the right to choose what they want to do. Although, Danielle didn't know that you were coming, so she thought that you were spying on her."

"You know, maybe you're right," Samuel said, "I should go apologize. Thanks Max."

Samuel left for the courtyard while his teammates were preparing for the day.

"So, what's going on today?" Rachael asked.

"I don't know," William said, "I guess it's going to be a lazy Sunday today."

Samuel came out of Beacon and approached the group.

"Hello Samuel," Danielle said acting like she didn't care.

"Guys, I think that we're all to blame for what happened yesterday," Samuel said, "But mostly me."

The others didn't respond.

"So…I'm sorry," Samuel said, "If you don't want my apology, I'll understand. But if you do, come meet me down in Vale; I'll be in the park."

Samuel found a transport and it took him to Vale Park.

"…You know, maybe we were being too hard on him," Rachael said, "I guess that since he's my brother he thinks he knows what's best for me."

"Yeah, we were hard on him," William said, "I vote to go find Samuel."

"Me too," Rachael said, "What about you, Danielle?"

"Well, I guess Samuel was curious about what he was hearing," Danielle said, "I'm in."

The three teenagers boarded a transport and took off for Vale Park, where Samuel was waiting.

"Man, I hope that the others accepted my apology," Samuel thought.

Samuel looked up and saw a transport heading for the park.

"That must be them," Samuel said.

Samuel went to the transport landing area and waited for the ship to land. And when it did Samuel didn't see his teammates, but three individuals that he didn't recognize.

"Oh, I thought it was somebody else," Samuel said, apologizing to the three people.

"Oh, it's okay, mate, 'cause you're gonna wish we were somebody else," Graviton said.

"Wait, what?" Samuel asked.

Suddenly, Graviton pulled his sledgehammer out and hit Samuel far away.

"Ow…" Samuel groaned, "I don't know what you're deal is, but I'm willing to bet you work for the Black Talon!"

"You guessed right!" Platinum said, "I don't know where your teammates are, but if you're all alone, this will be easier than we thought."

"Get 'im!" Graviton said.

The three villains ran at Samuel.

Samuel pulled out his assault rifle and sent a wave of bullets flying at his enemies, but Platinum turned into a metal substance and blocked them all.

"What on earth…?" Samuel asked.

"Look on the bright side of things!" Luminous happily said as her hair turned white.

"Agh!" Samuel cried as a bright light engulfed him.

The light faded and Samuel was just able to see Graviton before his sledgehammer sent him flying into the sky.

"Hey, come back on down!" Graviton said.

Samuel fell really fast and slammed into the ground, leaving a five-foot wide crater where he landed.

"Ow…" Samuel groaned.

"I don't see why Coros had so much trouble fighting you," Platinum said, "You're such a pushover."

"Platinum, would you like to have the honors?" Graviton asked.

"My pleasure," Platinum said pulling one of her swords out and holding it over Samuel's chest.

"And the same fate shall come to us all," Luminous said, her hair now black.

Samuel looked up and saw another transport coming towards the park; he could just barely see his teammates in the open transport.

"Who are you all?" Samuel asked curiously, and trying to buy his friends some time.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you," Platinum said, "My name is Platinum, and I joined the Black Talon because a group of Faunas destroyed my dad's shop and killed him."

"I'm Graviton," Graviton replied, "I came from a rich family, but one day, the Faunas attacked the governing office of my old company and drove me out of business. So that's my story."

"I'm Luminous," Luminous replied, "I suffer from a Multiple Personality Disorder, and was constantly ridiculed for it. The personality is possess is determined by how I feel."

"Thanks making to time to tell me all that," Samuel said.

"Why?" Graviton asked.

Suddenly, an explosion behind the villains blew them away from Samuel.

"That's why," Samuel said.

"Samuel!" Rachael exclaimed.

"Guys!" Samuel said, "You came for me!"

"We accept your apology, and I guess we came at the right time," William said.

"Who are these guys?" Danielle asked.

"Well, to make a long story short, they're Black Talon members," Samuel said, "The armored one can change her body into any material; I think that the guy can control gravity, judging by his name and what he did; and the girl can control light levels."

"Crazy semblances," Danielle said.

"Alright, team, let's take care of these brats!" Graviton said getting up.

The villains ran toward team SWRD.

"Team SWRD, we need to take care of them quick, before they can get the upper hand," Samuel said.

"How?" Rachael asked.

"We should try out the team attacks!" Samuel said.

"Are you sure?" Danielle asked, "We don't know if they'll work!"

"Then we'll have to try and see," Samuel said, "William, Polar Bear!"

Samuel inserted an Ice Dust round into Northstar (that's the name of his Nightstick/assault rifle), made an ice blade with the dust and stabbed it into the ground.

As the villains drew near, William slammed his foot into the ground and a huge ice pillar shot out of the ground and separated the villains.

"Fire at Platinum!" Samuel said, "She's the armored one!"

The team pulled out their weapons and fired at Platinum, but her skin turned to a metal substance.

"Fast Paw Special!" Samuel said.

William stuck Quake (his Broadsword/Rail Gun) into the ground, grabbed Rachael's hand and the two of them began to spin around really fast.

"Release!" Samuel said.

William let go of Rachael and she flew at, and knocked down, Platinum.

"You'll pay for that!" Graviton said running at Rachael, who was currently getting back up.

"Danielle, Air Support!" Samuel cried.

Danielle grabbed onto Samuel, flew them both up using her jetpack and Samuel sent a spray of bullets at Graviton, keeping him busy while Rachael pulled back.

"Meteor Impact!" Samuel said.

Danielle put Samuel onto the ground, and then William launched Danielle into the air by using his semblance to make a stone pillar shoot out of the ground. Then Danielle used her Flamethrower as she flew towards Graviton.

"Hot, hot, hot!" Graviton cried as Danielle flew over and scorched him (his aura protected him enough).

Samuel and Rachael heard somebody nearby and saw Luminous.

"Hi!" Luminous said with her hair glowing white, "And goodbye…"

Luminous's hair turned black and the area around Samuel and Rachael turned pitch-black.

"Spray and Pray!" Samuel said.

Samuel and Rachael stood back to back, locked elbows, spun around and repeatedly shooting their guns, many of the bullets hit Luminous, causing the light level to reset.

"They're stronger than we thought," Platinum said, "Retreat!"

The villains ran back towards their ship.

"They won't get away!" Samuel said, "Jet-Cat!"

Danielle wrapped her arms around Rachael's shoulders, activated her jetpack while Rachael ran really fast, making the two of them go really, really fast. They knocked the three villains over, but into their transport.

"Get out of here, go, go, go!" Graviton said as Platinum took the controls.

The transport flew off as Team SWRD fired at the bad guys, but most of the shots missed.

"They got away," Samuel said.

The group heard nearby footsteps, turned and saw Max Sentinel.

Max's sign said "I heard explosions, so I came to see what was going on…but I guess you four handled it pretty well."

"Yeah," Samuel said, "We came together and worked as a team."

Max's sign changed to say "See, all you had to do was apologize."

"Yeah, thanks, Max," Samuel said, "You're always there to help."

Max's sign now said "I won't be here forever, I'm just a mentor. And as apprentices, you'll have to be on your own someday."

"Yeah," Samuel said, "But I'm just glad you're here now."

"How about we go back to Beacon?" Danielle suggested, "I've had enough excitement for one day."

"Same here," everybody else, except Max Sentinel replied.


	17. A Grade Week

"That is all for today," Glynda Goodwitch said as some kind of buzzer went off, "And remember, the dance is this weekend; but you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."

Team SWRD left the room, along with all of other students, including an exchange student named 'Mercury' and another one named 'Emerald'.

"Man, the week really flew by," William said.

"Yeah, I guess that battle we had with the Black Talon last Sunday really tuckered us out," Rachael said.

"So…about the dance," Samuel said.

"Samuel, I want to talk to you a few things," Glynda said.

"Uh, okay," Samuel replied, "I'll meet you all back at our dorm."

Samuel approached Glynda while the rest of his team went to their dorm.

"What do you want?" Samuel asked.

"Please come with me," Glynda replied.

Glynda led Samuel to the transmit tower located in Beacon. They went inside and approached the elevator.

"Where are you taking me?" Samuel asked.

"The headmaster wants to see you," Glynda said.

Samuel and Glynda entered the elevator and the doors shut.

"Hello, welcome to the CCT, how may I help you?" a computer voice asked.

"Take us to the headmaster's office," Glynda said.

"Absolutely." the computer replied, "Could you please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?"

Glynda put her Scroll over the terminal and a weird noise played.

"Perfect, thank you, Miss Goodwitch," the computer said.

With a shunt, the elevator started to move up the tower until they came to the top. The doors slid open and Samuel and Glynda left the elevator and saw Ozpin sitting at his desk.

"Hello, Samuel," Ozpin said, "Please, sit down."

Samuel approached the desk and sat down in the chair on the side opposite to Ozpin.

"Samuel, I brought you here today to speak with you on a few…important matters," Ozpin said.

"Like what?" Samuel asked.

"We'll start with the lighter stuff," Ozpin said, "Like your team's grades."

"Yeah, I heard that we're starting to fall behind, with the exception of Danielle," Samuel said.

"I have a few guesses as to why you're not doing well," Ozpin said, "Such as your encounters with the Black Talon."

"How do you know about that?" Samuel asked.

"Max Sentinel likes to, I guess you could say, 'tell' me about his adventures with you," Ozpin said, "They seem rather interesting."

"Why are we talking about all this?" Samuel asked, "The grades I understand, but this?"

"I'm concerned for all of my students," Ozpin replied, "Especially those who are constantly getting themselves into dangerous situations."

"I guess that makes sense," Samuel replied, "Although, I would prefer it if you don't chase after trouble."

"Actually, it seems to find us," Samuel said.

"Young man, I would refrain from making smart comments," Glynda said.

"Glynda, please," Ozpin said, "Focus on your schoolwork, let the police take care of any threats."

"Okay, I understand," Samuel replied.

"Thank you for your time," Ozpin said, "You are dismissed."

Samuel entered the elevator and the doors shut.

"Are you sure that they'll keep their noses out of trouble?" Glynda asked.

"They remind me of Team RWBY," Ozpin replied, "I doubt they will."

"They why not confine them to the school?" Glynda asked.

"I prefer to let students make their own choices," Ozpin said, "For better or for worse."

Later, Samuel arrived at his team's dorm.

"Samuel, what took you so long?" Rachael asked.

"I had a chat…with the headmaster," Samuel said.

"Professor Ozpin?" Danielle asked, "What did you do?"

"It's more what we have and haven't done," Samuel said, "We have been getting into dangerous situations and we haven't been doing well on our schoolwork."

"Really?" Rachael asked.

"Well, Danielle's doing fine, but the rest of us on the other hand…" Samuel said.

"Are really stinking it," Rachael said finishing Samuel's sentence.

"You got it," Samuel replied, "Ozpin also said for us to stay out of trouble."

"Well, trouble seems to find us," William said.

"That's what I told them," Samuel said, "But I guess that we should just get to the schoolwork and catch up."

Later that week, early Sunday morning, the team had finally finished…most of their work.

"* _Snore…snore…snore_ *. I'm up! I'm up!" William exclaimed as his head shot up from his schoolbook, "What'd I miss?!"

"Nothing, go back to sleep," Rachael moaned just before rolling off of her bed.

"Aah!" Samuel screamed hearing the thud Rachael made by rolling off of her bed.

Danielle was sleeping perfectly.

"How can she still be sleeping?" Samuel asked.

"Have we finished yet?" William asked, "With our work?"

"Let me see," Samuel moaned.

Samuel dragged himself over to his desk and checked their list.

"We're mostly done," Samuel said, "But we've still got quite a few things to do."

Danielle woke up, refreshed and relaxed.

"What's going on?" Danielle asked.

"We've still got to write a report on something," Samuel said.

"You know what, guys," Danielle said, "I'll take care of this, you all could use some rest."

"Gee thanks, Danielle," Samuel said, "Here, maybe you could use this."

Samuel pulled out the book he was reading at the library a few days ago.

"I checked this out, but never got to read it," Samuel said.

"Thanks," Danielle said, "You guys go rest."

A little later, Danielle was sitting in the library, figuring out what to write.

Danielle was thinking hard, and decided to pull out the book that Samuel handed her.

" ' _History of Remnant_ '," Danielle said, reading the book's title and flipping to the index.

Danielle moved her finger down the page, searching for anything interesting.

"Hmm…The Beginning, Creation of the Kingdoms, Discovery of Dust, the Great War, Prophecies…" Danielle said searching the page, "Maybe I'll check that last one."

Danielle moved to the section on prophecies and saw one that caught her eye, it was titled ' _The Master of Aura_ '.

"What's this?" Danielle asked, " ' _When all hope is lost. From the ashes, a hero will rise. Brave and strong and a master of Aura. He will defeat his adversaries. But not before losing someone dear._ '…Dark…"

Danielle searched the rest of the book and began writing the report while the rest of the team was resting.

"William," Samuel said.

"Hmm?" William asked.

"You awake?" Samuel asked.

"Do I sound like I'm asleep?" William asked.

"Sorry, but I wanted to tell you something," Samuel said.

"What is it?" William asked.

"It's about you and my sister—Rachael. I'm sorry for acting so jerky to both of you." Samuel said, "I'm just trying to say…if you and her want to go the dance, I'm cool with that."

"Thanks buddy. That means a lot," William said, "I won't make you sorry."

Samuel suddenly fell silent.

"What's wrong?" William asked.

"It's just…I hope I can get Danielle to come with me," Samuel said.

"Yeah," William said, "Rachael and I figured that she liked you, since she jumped at the first time to save you back in the Emerald Forest."

"Really?" Samuel asked, "I just thought that she was the next one to launch."

"No," William said, "If you just ask her, maybe she'll come with you."

"Yeah," Samuel said, "Maybe. Thanks."

"No problem," William replied.

Danielle came back into the room with a small stack of papers and the book from earlier.

"I finished our report," Danielle said coming into the room, "How much do we have left?"

Danielle looked at the to-do list.

"We're not done yet?" Danielle asked, "We need to get cracking."

"Danielle," Samuel said, "We've been worrying about this work too much."

"Yeah, so?" Danielle asked.

"Let's take a break," Samuel said.

"Samuel…I thought you knew the importance of no getting kicked out of Beacon," Danielle said.

"I do," Samuel said, "But we also need to rest, that means everyone."

Danielle turned her head away.

"I'm going to go finish our work," Danielle said, "If you want to get kicked out, that's fine by me."

Danielle walked off.

"* _Sigh_ *…I don't know what to do anymore," Samuel said.

Elsewhere, the three goons from a few days ago were getting a lecture from Coros.

"You could have jeopardized our whole operation!" Coros yelled, "What were you thinking?"

"We were thinking that the three of us could take them out," Platinum said.

"But you didn't," Coros said, "You three are not to leave the base until further notice."

Coros walked off, leaving the three soldiers to themselves.

"Well, at least we know about their battle style," cheery Luminous said.

"Yeah, and when we all face off again, we'll be ready," Graviton said.


	18. To Locate a Date

It was Sunday morning, and each team SWRD member was doing their own thing.

Samuel was busy thinking; William was looking for Rachael, who was chatting with some of the exchange students; and Danielle was studying.

"I just…I don't know what to do," Samuel said thinking out loud.

Suddenly, Samuel felt a finger tap him twice on his left shoulder; he turned around and saw Max Sentinel.

"Hi there, Max," Samuel said.

(I'll write the messages on Max's sign like normal speaking from now on, and said means 'said on the screen' in his case).

"Hello, Samuel," Max's sign said, "How's your homework coming along?"

"We're doing fine," Samuel said, "But I can't get Danielle to stop worrying about it."

"She thinks that you're giving up?" Max's sign said.

"I guess," Samuel replied, "How can I get her to stop?"

"The dance is tonight," Max's sign said, "Maybe you could invite her to come with you."

"Well," Samuel said, "It's worth a shot. Thanks Max."

"No problem," Max's sign said.

Samuel walked off to find Danielle while William was trying to locate Rachael.

"Where is she?" William asked.

"Yeah, I know!" Rachael said from around a corner.

"Hmm?" William wondered.

William pressed his back against the nearest wall and tried to listen to the conversation between Rachael and the exchange students.

"What about his friend, that hunk Neptune?" a student asked, "Has anyone tired asking him?"

All of the students, except Rachael, replied negatively.

"I was thinking about asking him," Rachael said.

"What?" William wondered.

Suddenly, William heard all of the girls, except he didn't know that Rachael wasn't, swoon.

William peeked his around the corner and saw the male, blond, monkey Faunas named 'Sun' and the blue-haired young man with orange goggles named 'Neptune' walking down the hall with the ladies looking at them.

"Ladies," Neptune said, winking at the girls, "You can look, but don't touch."

"Don't listen to him," Sun said.

" 'Sup, man?" Neptune said as he saw William's face.

William immediately ran off; the girls, Rachael, Sun and Neptune watched his mad dash.

"Sheesh, what's with him?" Sun asked.

"Was he listening in on our conversation?" a girl asked.

"Yeah, what a snoop," another girl said.

"Nobody could possibly like a guy like that," a female exchange student said.

"Ditto," the last student said.

"That 'snoop' is my friend!" Rachael exclaimed.

Rachael rushed down the hall, looking for William.

Meanwhile, Danielle was busy writing down answers to some questions in the library.

"I don't know what the others are thinking," Danielle said, "If we don't take care of this, we'll get kicked out of Beacon. Am I the only one who's thinking around here?"

Danielle flipped the page while Samuel was searching for her.

"Agh," Samuel groaned, "Where is she?"

Danielle was starting to feel thirsty.

"I need to get some water," Danielle said.

Danielle got up, began walk past the shelves, searching them, unaware of what was about to happen.

"Oof!" Samuel and Danielle grunted as they ran into each other, without looking where they were going.

"Samuel?" Danielle asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to talk," Samuel said.

"Well, unless it's about finishing our homework, I'll hear none of it," Danielle said as she made her way to the nearest drinking fountain.

"Danielle, there's no way you'll be able to finish all of our remaining homework in time," Samuel said, following Danielle to the fountain and then to the table she was working at, "Is this how you want our time at this school to end?"

Danielle let out a huge sigh and looked up at Samuel.

"You know what I think?" Danielle asked, "I think that you're giving up."

"No, not at all," Samuel said, "I was just wondering, how would you like our time here to end, doing a hopeless task, or having fun with your team?"

"You're giving up," Danielle said.

"No," Samuel said, "Alright, I'll give it to you straight."

Samuel looked into Danielle's green eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and summoned all of his courage to speak.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" Samuel asked.

As Samuel asked this question, William was running from his.

William ran down the school's halls, until he finally found a hiding spot in the janitor's closet.

"William?" Rachael called, "Where are you?"

Rachael suddenly heard William's heavy panting coming from the nearby closet.

"William, what's wrong?" Rachael asked approaching he closet, "Come on out."

"No," William replied.

"Come on," Rachael said, "I want to know what's wrong."

"Fine," William said.

William walked out of the closet and closed the door behind him.

"It's just…" William said, "When I found out who you were going to ask to the dance…"

"What?" Rachael asked.

"Neptune," William said, "You were going to ask Neptune to go with you."

"I said 'I was thinking about it'," Rachael said, "Emphasis on 'was'."

"Really?" William asked.

"Yeah," Rachael said, "Why were you worried about that?"

"I actually was going to ask you to the dance," William said.

"Well if you had asked," Rachael said, "I would have said 'yes'."

A huge smile spread across William's face.

"Really!?" William exclaimed.

"Yeah," Rachael said, "I think you asked before, but we were all too busy arguing to worry about it."

"So, see you tonight?" William asked.

"I'll be waiting," Rachael said.

William made the way back to his team's dorm, jumping for joy.

"Hm," Rachael said to herself, "And if you hadn't asked, I would have."

Moments earlier, back in the library, Samuel was waiting for Danielle's answer.

"So, you want me to come to the dance with you?" Danielle asked.

"Yes," Samuel said, "I figured that if we go out, why not do it with style?"

"I'm sorry, Samuel," Danielle said, "But this is more important."

Danielle turned back to her work as Samuel became very sad and walked away.

"* _Sigh_ *…" Samuel groaned, "I guess I'm going alone."

Later that day, just as the dance was starting, William was waiting at the entrance.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm," William hummed, in his tuxedo (not unlike the kind the other male students had, just with dark green details), "Where is she?"

"I'm here," Rachael said.

William turned around and saw Rachael, in a brown long dress.

"I was hoping to get here earlier," Rachael said, "But I had trouble finding this."

"It was worth the wait," William said.

"Gee, thanks," Rachael said, trying not to blush.

Rachael held her elbow out, William wrapped his elbow around hers and they both walked into the ballroom, where they were greeted by Yang.

"Hi, there," Yang said, "I think I saw your team leader sitting down over there."

Yang pointed at a row of seats, where Samuel and a few other students were resting.

"Thanks," William said.

The twosome walked over to Samuel.

"Hey, buddy," William said.

"Hi, guys," Samuel said, "I see Rachael agreed to go with you."

"Yeah," William replied, "I was actually worried for a bit that she wasn't going to."

"So, where's you date?" Rachael asked.

"She didn't come," Samuel said.

"So Danielle didn't decide to come after all," Rachael said.

"Yeah," Samuel said, "Have a good night you two."

William and Rachael walked out onto the dance floor while Samuel sat there, unsettled.

"I should go get some fresh air," Samuel thought.

Samuel walked out the front door and sat down on the steps.

Samuel let out a long sigh.

"Sad about something?" a young woman's voice asked.

Samuel didn't respond.

"I might have something that will cheer you up," the woman said, "Look up."

Samuel hesitated for a second, turned his gaze skyward and saw none other than Danielle, in a dress that was grey at the top but gradually changed to black towards the bottom.

"Danielle?" Samuel asked getting up, "What are you doing here?"

"I changed my mind," Danielle replied, "I figured that if we're going to leave, might as well do it with a bang."

Samuel grinned, took Danielle by the hand and led her to the dance floor, where they met up with William and Rachael, and began to dance the night away.

Max Sentinel stood in the corner, watching and smiling; knowing that team SWRD had a bright future ahead of them.


	19. Mission Impassible

It was Monday morning, and team SWRD was fast asleep in their dorm. The festivities that had taken place last night made them really tired.

"Mrghrph," William groaned in his sleep, "Yeah, I'll have the cake…"

Samuel's eyes slowly opened, he got up, looked around and remembered something important.

"It's Monday!" Samuel exclaimed.

Everybody cried out as they either shot up or fell off of their beds.

"What is wrong with you?" William asked, getting up off of the ground.

"It's Monday, we have our first mission today," Samuel said.

"Oh, snap," Rachael said.

"We should start packing up," Samuel said, "We need to be ready, for any outcome."

Everybody nodded and packed their bags. About twenty minutes later, everything was together.

"That went smoother than we thought," Samuel said.

"Would all first year students please report to the Amphitheater?" a woman said over the loudspeakers located in every room in Beacon.

"Just in time," Danielle said, "Let's get going."

The team members grabbed their respective bags and left for the Amphitheater. When they got there, they could see bags in one corner and students from all of the schools spread throughout the room.

"Quiet, quiet please," Glynda Goodwitch said from the stage.

Team SWRD left their bags in the corner and found a spot to stand in.

"Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin," Glynda Goodwitch said just before moving back so Ozpin could use the microphone.

"Today we stand together, united…Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale…The four kingdoms of Remnant." Professor Ozpin said, "On this day nearly 80 years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end.

"It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than whose borders fell or who traded with who…but about the very idea of individualism itself.

"We fought for countless reasons. One of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self expression. And as you all are well aware, that was something many could not stand for.

"As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: Color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day.

"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity—through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you'll be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission.

"Some of you will be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

Ozpin left the stage as everyone applauded his speech.

"Alright, team, any ideas as to which mission we should pick?" Samuel asked.

"Something caught my eye," Danielle said, "It was in the 'Escort' section."

"Escort, huh?" Samuel said, "Let's check it out."

The team walked over to the section with the Escort missions.

"That one," Danielle said, "Quadrant 2."

"Isn't that located to the west?" William asked.

"Yeah," Rachael said, "I heard that Atlas is sending a convoy from Quadrant 2 to Vale."

"Well then," Samuel said, "I guess that's the one we're doing."

Samuel clicked on the mission and typed down his team's name, and the computer said 'Approved'.

"Sweet," William said, "Let's get a transport and head on over there."

The team members grabbed their bags and walked for a moment.

"Samuel North, may I speak with you?" Glynda Goodwitch asked Samuel.

"You guys wait here," Samuel said just before walking over to Glynda.

"You remember that schoolwork your team was falling behind on?" Glynda asked.

"Oh, no…are we getting kicked out?" Samuel asked.

"…On the contrary," Glynda said, "You actually finished more of it than we expected. So you'd better get going."

Samuel nodded, knowing that Glynda was referring to the mission, and ran back to his teammates.

"Come on, guys," Samuel said, "We've got a mission to complete."

The team members headed outside.

"Team CFVY's been gone longer than they said they would be," Samuel said.

"Hey! Team CFVY is back!" a student said.

"That did not just happen," Samuel said.

The foursome looked over to where the student was running and saw their friends. They ran past the crowd.

"Coco, Fox!" Samuel called out.

"Hmm?" Coco asked, turning towards team SWRD, "Oh, hey guys, how're you all doing?"

"Pretty good," Samuel replied, "What happened, you supposed be back some time ago."

"Things got kind of complicated," Fox said, "So we took a little longer than expected."

Yatsuhashi walked into the conversation.

"Yatsuhashi, my man," William said, "Up top!"

Yatsuhashi just lightly did a high-five.

"Hi guys," Velvet said approaching the group, "What did you guys get for your mission?"

"We're going to escorting an Atlas convoy to Vale," Samuel said.

"Well, good luck to you. It was nice to see you all again," Velvet said.

Team CFVY walked off.

"Let's head to the dock," Samuel said.

The team made their way to the dock and found their transport.

"Where's our Huntsman?" Samuel asked.

Max Sentinel walked out of the transport and waved to the team.

"Of course," Danielle said.

"Let's get going," Samuel said.

The team boarded the transport and it set off for Quadrant 2.

"So, Max," Samuel said, "You're our Huntsman?"

Max nodded.

"What are we going to be doing exactly?" Samuel asked.

"There have been a few attacks on the convoys that Atlas has been sending to Vale, so Beacon decided that this next one should have some extra defense," Max's sign's screen said.

"Makes sense," Samuel said, "How long are we going to be gone?"

"The convoy leaves as soon as we arrive, so we'll only be gone the night," the sign's screen said.

"Why not just fly the supplies to Vale?" Rachael asked.

"That's where all of the ambushes have been happening," the sign's screen said, "So they're going to send a fake transport as a distraction. And the load is too heavy to fly."

"Got it," William asked.

The group remained silent as the transport flew to Quadrant 2 and the insertion point (the flight was at least quarter of a day long.

"Here we are," Samuel said.

All of the team members, except for Samuel, jumped out of the transport and landed at the insertion point.

"Oh, I don't know about this…" Samuel said.

Samuel jumped out and landed in an awkward position.

"Ow," Samuel groaned.

"Come on," Danielle said, "We need to meet up with the convoy."

"That convoy?" William asked.

The group looked over at a big vehicle with a few wheeled containers attached to the back.

"That must be it," Rachael asked.

The group approached the main vehicle and a soldier opened a side door.

"You must be the group from Vale," the soldier said, "Hop in; we've got a lot of ground to cover."

The team and Max boarded the vehicle and sat in a room that had a few other soldiers in it.

"Alright, men…" the driver said.

Rachael and Danielle glared at the driver.

"…and women," the driver continued, "Let's get this convoy moving."

The vehicle began to make its way towards Vale.


	20. Before the Guard

"Commander Coros," a Black Talon soldier said.

"What is it?" Coros asked.

"Our scouts have found an Atlas convoy in Quadrant 2 making its way towards Vale," the soldier replied, "It's loaded with beautiful Atlas technology."

"Okay," Coros said, "Prepare a strike team. Be ready to leave in half an hour."

"Yes sir," the soldier replied, saluting as Coros walked off.

Coros walked through the corridors of the Black Talon's base of operations until he came to the room that his elite guard stayed in.

"Open door, password: SWRD," Coros said.

"Access granted," a computer replied.

The door opened and Coros walked into the room; Platinum, Graviton and Luminous were waiting.

"What's going on, boss?" Graviton asked.

"We have a mission," Coros said, "There's a military convoy heading to Vale, and our job is to take it over."

"Great!" Platinum said, "I've been itching for a fight."

"Be ready to leave in half an hour," Coros said.

Coros left the room and closed the door behind him.

"You heard him!" cheery Luminous said, "Let's. Get. Ready!"

Luminous ran to her quarters and started to rummage through her stuff as she remembered why she joined the Black Talon.

"You are such a freak!" a voice echoed in Luminous's head, "A waste of Aura."

Luminous closed her eyes, and thought back to her childhood.

"Look, her hair's turning black again!" a bratty, young, male Faunas said in a schoolyard.

"It's not my fault!" eleven year-old Luminous cried, "It's my Semblance!"

"Are you sure it's not your condition?" another young Faunas asked meanly.

"Yeah, aren't you like, two people in…what's it called again?" the first Faunas asked, trying to say 'Multiple Personality Disorder'. Luminous suffered from it, one personality was happy and joyful, and the other was all doom and gloom, the personality she currently possessed affected her hair color and Semblance.

"Leave me alone!" Luminous cried.

Young Luminous engulfed herself in a black orb. Then she could hear screaming and gunfire, curious as to what was happening, she removed the orb and saw a slightly younger Commander Coros.

"Do you wish to have revenge on those who made fun of you?" Coros asked.

"Gee, I don't know," Luminous replied, "I guess."

Coros put his hand out to help the girl up.

"Then come with me," Coros said.

Young Luminous hesitated for a moment and then reached her hand out. While Luminous remembering all of this, Graviton was having flashbacks of his own.

About four years ago, Graviton was part of a huge company named the Dust Department, a huge producer of Dust, second only to the Schnee Dust Company.

"Wait, what happened?!" younger Graviton asked, full of anger.

"It is as I said; the White Fang attacked, and destroyed, the company's main office, along with most of the leading members," a female secretary explained.

"Those animals," Graviton exclaimed, "Who survived?"

"Just the CEO," the secretary said, "He wasn't at the main office when it happened."

"That's some good news," Graviton asked, "Anything else?"

"Another shipment was robbed," the secretary said.

"Ugh…" Graviton groaned, rubbing his brow, "Leave. I wish to have some time alone."

The secretary nodded and left Graviton's high-rise office, shutting the door behind her.

"What am I to do?" Graviton asked himself.

Suddenly, the windows turned black, making the room black as night, save for the light over Graviton's desk.

"What in heck is going on 'ere?" Graviton asked.

A small holo-screen with a picture of a shady man appeared over Graviton's desk.

"Who is this?" Graviton asked.

"I'm sorry to hear about your company's loss," the man said.

"How do you know about that?" Graviton asked.

"I have my ways," the man said, "The name is Coros."

"Coros, eh?" Graviton asked, "What business do you have hacking into my servers?"

"Only a partnership," Coros said, "I can supply you with what you need to stop those…animals as you called them."

"Is there anything else?" Graviton asked.

"Should you choose to accept my offer, I am waiting in the Emerald Forest," Coros said, "Be there by tomorrow."

The screen disappeared and the windows went back to normal.

"Hmm…" Graviton said pressing the intercom's talk button, "Ms. Amber, tell my boss that I'll be leaving on a business negotiation and I may not return for a long time."

"Of course, sir," Ms. Amber, Graviton's secretary, replied.

As these memories flashed through Graviton's head, Platinum's mind was stirring with past experiences.

"Good evening, father," younger Platinum said, "How goes business?"

"Very well," Platinum's dad said, "But I'm starting to worry."

"Why?" Platinum asked.

"Major Dust companies are starting to run us smaller guys out of business," Platinum's dad replied, "I mean, I'm sure we'll be fine."

Suddenly, the windows on the small Dust shop burst open (this is not 'From Dust Till Dawn', this place is in Mistral).

"What's going on?" Platinum asked.

"Stay back," Platinum's father said.

A small ball rolled through the open window.

"Grenade!" Platinum's father said.

Platinum tired to turn her skin into metal by putting her hand on a nearby metal pillar, but she only got halfway and the blast engulfed her and her father.

Platinum hit her head against the wall and was knocked out. When she came to, she saw that the shop was torn to shreds.

"Dad!" Platinum cried.

Platinum ran over to her dead father, who was lying on the ground. Platinum knelt down and began to cry, unaware who was behind her.

"Looks like we missed one," a man wearing a Grimm mask said.

Platinum turned around and saw the soldier aim his rifle at her. But before a shot could be fired, a man wearing grey military clothing hit the soldier down with a whack from a large baton.

"Who are you?" Platinum asked, "Are you the one who did this?"

"No," the man said, "The name is Coros, and they are the ones who destroyed your shop."

Coros pointed to the unconscious White Fang soldier lying on the ground.

"Now, do you want to avenge your father?" Coros asked.

"Yes," Platinum replied.

"Then do so," Coros said handing Platinum two swords.

Platinum took the swords, walked over to the soldier and raised the blades into the air.

"Please, no," the White Fang soldier begged.

Platinum thrust the swords into the soldier, killing him.

"There are many more like him," Coros said, "If you join me, we can avenge everyone who has died by their hands."

While the origins of the Elite Guard members coursed through their respective minds, Coros remembered their first mission.

"I see you decided to show up after all," Coros said, with Platinum to one side and Luminous to the other, "Welcome, Graviton. Meet Luminous and Platinum."

"G'day, mates," Graviton said.

"Hi," Platinum said.

"I'm not sure about this," black-haired Luminous said.

"Whether or not you're sure, our quarry is here," Coros said.

The group looked over to the south and saw a man, in a brown cloak walking down the path. But in the dark of the night, it was impossible to see who he was.

"Who is it?" Luminous asked.

Luminous moved forwards, and accidentally stepped on a stick, causing the cloaked man to turn his attention towards the group.

"Way to go, mate," Graviton said.

The cloaked man pulled out a rifle-like weapon and fired at Coros's group.

"Move!" Coros cried.

The evil team dodged the wave of gunfire.

"Graviton, Luminous, take these!" Coros said, throwing a laser gun and a sledgehammer to Luminous and Graviton respectively.

"Heavy metal," Graviton said.

"Shiny," Luminous said.

The cloaked man aimed his gun at Graviton and fired, but Graviton used his Semblance to send the bullets flying back. The man dodged his own bullets and turned his attention towards Platinum. Pulling the trigger again, the man shot a plethora of gunfire at Platinum.

"Not so fast," Platinum said as her skin turned into the material her swords were made of, which is oddly enough the same as her name and caused the bullets to bounce off.

Suddenly, the cloaked man felt his back get hit with a laser blast. He turned around and saw black-haired young Luminous standing there.

"And the end comes for you," Luminous said, aiming her gun at the man's face.

The man spun around and kicked the girl down. The three goons regrouped with Coros.

"Everybody, ready your weapons and fire!" Coros cried.

The group aimed their guns at the man and let loose, but the man dodged all of the gunfire.

"Fine, have a taste of this!" Coros said throwing an impact grenade at the man.

A small portal opened up in the air, the grenade entered it and appeared next to Coros.

"Pull back!" Coros cried.

They weren't quick enough to escape the blast and the impact knocked them out. When they came to, the man was gone and it was also the next morning.

"He got away," Coros said, "Come on, everybody, we need to go back to headquarters, where your training begins."

Coros's mind shifted back to the present day, five years after those events, and the mission he and his team were about to embark on.

"Coros," a soldier said, "Everyone you assigned to this mission is ready to move out!"

"Excellent," Coros said.

Coros boarded a VTOL transport, along with his Elite Guard and it flew out of the base.

"The flight should take a few hours," a pilot said, "So make yourselves comfortable."

The VTOL, along with a few other transports, ground vehicles and a mechsuit being carried by a heavy vehicle air transport (try saying that five times fast); flew off to intercept the Atlas convoy.


	21. Quizzing Questions

While the Black Talon made their way to the convoy, team SWRD and Max were in combat.

"Beowulves dead ahead!" Danielle said.

"Rachael, get ahead of the convoy and take them out!" Samuel said.

"You got it!" Rachael replied.

Rachael ran to the front of the convoy and saw a small group of Beowulves blocking the vehicle's movement.

"Yeah, send the cat to battle wild dogs," Rachael said.

Rachael shot at some of the Beowulves with her pistols, but this only got their attention.

"Guys, I could use some backup!" Rachael cried.

"Danielle, give her support!" Samuel said.

"I got it!" William said.

William ran to Rachael as Danielle flew down and the two arriving teammates knocked each other over.

"Watch where you're flying that thing!" William said.

"William, I told Danielle to help Rachael!" Samuel said, "You're more useful back here, taking care of the bigger Grimm!"

"Fine," William said.

William ran back to Samuel while Danielle and Rachael took out the Beowulves.

"William, I could use a hand here!" Samuel said as a pair of those boar-like Grimm charged at him.

"Want to see pigs fly?" William asked.

William stomped the ground, made a ramp come out of the ground between Samuel and the boar Grimm and sent them flying. Then William fired his Rail Gun at the Grimm.

"Smells like bacon," William said.

"Enough joking!" Samuel said, "We've got more Ursa to take care of!"

William ran over to the wave of approaching Ursa while Rachael and Danielle were battling it out with a few last Beowulves.

"Where's Max?" Danielle asked.

Moments later, a huge Ursa walked out of the nearby trees.

"Uh, oh," Rachael said, "I wish he was here!"

Then, the two girls heard a gunshot and a bullet went right through the Ursa. Rachael and Danielle looked backwards and saw Max jump off of the convoy, leap up and cut the Ursa in half with his Axe.

"I didn't know that your Axe had a gun function," Rachael said.

"There's a lot of stuff you don't know about me." Max's sign displayed.

"Alright, team, that's the last of the Grimm here," Samuel said approaching the two girls and Max, "Let's hop back onto the convoy and get a move on."

A few hours later, night had fallen. Max and the team went into a container that was kind of like a room where you would relax, inside were just a few chairs and couches.

"Things are actually going smoother than we thought they would," an Atlas soldier said.

"Thanks for the update," Samuel replied.

The soldier left the room to head back to the main vehicle.

"So, want to talk about something?" William asked.

"Actually, yes I do," Max's sign displayed, "May I ask each of you a few questions?"

"Okay, shoot," Samuel replied.

"I'd like to talk to each person individually," Max's sign displayed, "Starting with Rachael."

"Oh, uh…okay," Rachael said, "Lead the way."

Max led Rachael outside to an area between two of the containers.

"So, Rachael, why do you wish to become a Huntress?" Max's sign displayed.

"Huh?" Rachael asked.

Max's sign repeated the message.

"Well, we didn't really know much about being a Huntress when I was a child," Rachael said, "I guess it just kind of 'clicked' as what I wanted to do with my life."

Max's face bore an enigmatic expression and then the words 'Go get William, I want to speak to him next' were displayed on the screen.

Rachael went back into the container with the sofas and chairs and William came out a few minutes later.

"Yeah, Max?" William said.

"Why do you want to be a Huntsman?" Max's sign displayed.

"Well, at first I wasn't into it, but then I see how awesome and dangerous it is. In short, I do it because it's a job and I like to do it," William replied.

Max messaged William to send Danielle to him.

"What do you want?" Danielle asked leaving the container.

"What is the reason you do what you do?" Max's sign displayed.

"Well…now that you mention it, I guess I'm just here because of my friends," Danielle said, "I never really thought about it."

Max sent Danielle to fetch Samuel.

"So, Samuel," Max's sign displayed as Samuel approached, "I have a few questions for you."

"What are they?" Samuel asked.

"Why do you wish to be a Huntsman?" Max's sign displayed.

"Because it's the right thing to do," Samuel said.

"I suspect there might be an ulterior motive," Max's sign displayed.

"What do you mean?" Samuel asked, trying not to show his nervousness.

"I know why you came to Beacon in the first place," Max's sign displayed.

"What!?" Samuel asked, pressing his back to the nearest wall.

"I've known for some time," Max's sign displayed, "You came seeking refuge, with no intention of becoming Huntsmen or Huntresses."

"Okay…you got me," Samuel said, "I guess the secret's out. And so are we."

"Whatever walk of life you came from doesn't matter," Max's sign displayed, "It's what you do now that matters."

"I see," Samuel said, "Thanks for understanding."

Samuel stood silent for a moment.

"I saw how your team fought back at the Grimm attack," Max's sign displayed, "How come you're still fighting?"

"Well, we got over most of the fighting, but we still have an occasional squabble or two," Samuel said.

"Just like a family," Max's sign displayed.

"Yeah…a family," Samuel said.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," Max's sign displayed, "I meant no harm."

"It's okay," Samuel said.

Both people were quiet for a bit.

"Max, I have a question for you," Samuel said.

Max's face had a look that meant 'What is it?'

"Did you ever go to Beacon, as a student?" Samuel asked.

"Yes, I did," Max's sign displayed, "Why do you ask?"

"What was your team?" Samuel asked.

Max turned around, spun his sign's screen towards Samuel and the words 'I don't want to talk about it' appeared on it.

"Why?" Samuel asked.

Max turned his sign off and walked back into the container.

"Wow, what's up with that?" Samuel asked.

Suddenly, an alarm started to blare. The soldiers in the main vehicle saw something big incoming.

"What's going on!?" Samuel asked as he and his team entered the vehicle.

"We've got bogies coming in," an Atlas driver said.

"How many?" Samuel asked.

"Would a lot qualify?" the driver replied.

"And what's a lot?" Danielle asked.

"How about a small army?" the soldier said.

The group poked their heads out of the vehicle and recognized the incoming air vehicles, along with the land-based attack vehicles.

"Guys, it's the Black Talon," William said.

"We can see that," Rachael said.

"I'm having trouble seeing it," Samuel said (remember, Faunas have night vision).

"Everybody, prepare for battle!" Danielle said.

"I was about to say that," Samuel said.

The team got on top of some of the containers and prepared for battle while Coros and his goons readied to assault the convoy.

"We'll be there in mere seconds," a Black Talon pilot said.

"Sir," Platinum said talking to Coros, "There's something you'll want to see."

Coros looked down at the convoy and saw team SWRD.

"Oh, this is just too good to be true," Coros said, "Everybody, begin the assault!"


	22. Convoy Chaos

"Here they come!" Samuel said, "Defend the convoy!"

A few of the Black Talon's VTOLs flew over the convoy and dropped human soldiers off.

"Looks like they're not using robots anymore," Danielle said.

"Try to hold back, you can knock them out, but don't kill them!" Samuel said.

The soldiers raised their guns and fired at team SWRD.

"Tell them that!" Rachael cried as the team dodged the incoming gunfire.

"Coming through!" William said as he charged at and bowled over a few soldiers.

A few soldiers ran at Danielle, she turned around and knocked them off of the convoy by whacking them with her sniper rifle.

Max Sentinel used the gun mode on his sign to attack a few of the guards.

A guard with a sword charged at Samuel, he blocked the first attack with his nightstick, and then he inserted a vial of Earth Dust into his weapon and attacked the soldier with a blade made of Earth Dust.

Rachael pulled out her knives and hit a few soldiers down, and then she saw some more ships coming in.

"Guys, there are more transports coming in!" Rachael said.

"Danielle, find a spot to snipe from, don't let those ships drop any soldiers off!" Samuel said.

"Got it!" Danielle said.

Danielle ran back to the farthest back container and prepared to shoot the transports out of the sky.

Meanwhile, Coros and his elite guard were watching everything.

"Everything is going as planned," the pilot said.

"Good, send the capture units in," Coros said.

"Capture units, move in," the pilot said.

Four VTOLs, with no troop transport area so it can carry cargo instead, flew over the last car.

"What's going on?" Danielle asked.

The VTOLs shot cables down at the container and one soldier rode down each one (there was a soldier for every pilot in those ships).

"Stand down!" one of the soldiers said to Danielle.

"No," Danielle said.

"Get her!" another soldier said.

Three of the soldiers ran at Danielle while the last one ran to the gap between containers and began to use a blowtorch to sever the connection.

Danielle swung her sniper rifle, but missed all of the soldiers. Then the soldiers fired at Danielle, but she jumped over the attacks and shot all of the soldiers with her sniper rifle, knocking them all off of the container.

"Where'd the last one go?" Danielle asked.

Suddenly, the container shunted slowed down. It only took a moment for Danielle to realize that the container was no longer attached to the convoy.

"What's happening?" Danielle asked.

The VTOLs lifted the container up into the air, along with Danielle.

"The capture units have done their part," Coros said, "Prepare to destroy the rest of the convoy."

A VTOL, with a cargo holding space, flew over to the convoy; and it was carrying an advanced mechsuit.

"What is that?" Samuel asked.

The VTOL dropped the mechsuit and it landed on top of the container.

"Whatever it is, it's big," Rachael said.

"Easy pickings!" William said just before leaping at the mech, but it just backhanded him and he landed on the ground, away from the convoy.

"William!" Rachael said.

Rachael jumped off of the convoy and ran back to William.

"Rachael, get back here!" Samuel cried.

The mech reached for Samuel, but Max hit its hand away with his axe.

"Concentrate," Max's sign displayed.

Samuel and Max battled with the mechsuit while Rachael ran to get William. Meanwhile, Danielle was on the container that was being transported away.

"What's so important for them to carry this thing away?" Danielle asked.

Danielle saw that there was a hole in the top of the cargo container.

"Well, this could be useful," Danielle said.

Danielle jumped through the hole, and into the container. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that the container was holding loads of Atlas robots and weapons.

"Geez, looks like they're going to war," Danielle said.

Suddenly, the container shook and Danielle suddenly heard voices through one of the walls.

"Container attached, we're out of here," a familiar voice said.

"Wait, I wish to see our forces destroy team SWRD," another voice said.

"I know those two," Danielle thought.

Danielle walked in the direction of the voices, looked through a small hole in the cargo container's wall and saw Coros and his elite guard.

"Coros," Danielle thought.

"Boss, I don't mean to be party pooper, but I only see three of the team members down there," Graviton said.

"What?" Coros asked just before looking through the cockpit's window, "Where's Danielle?"

Luminous turned around and saw something move away from the peephole that Danielle was looking through.

"I think somebody's in the cargo container we grabbed," gloomy Luminous said.

"What?" Coros asked, "It must be a soldier, open it up and kill anything that moves."

Danielle moved back, frantically looking for a hiding place. Down on the ground, Rachael got to William.

"William, are you okay?" Rachael asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," William said.

"Great, now we need to get back to the convoy," Rachael said.

"But what do we do about that mech?" William asked.

"I got an idea," Rachael said.

Back on the convoy, Samuel and Max were having trouble against the new kind of mech.

"This thing's really tough!" Samuel said.

Max didn't respond, but just kept attacking the mech.

"There has to be a way to take it down," Samuel thought.

"Ye-ee-ha!" Rachael suddenly yelled.

Samuel looked in the direction of his sister's voice and saw her flying towards the mech.

"Fast Paw Special, coming your way!" Rachael said, curling up into a ball.

Rachael slammed into the mechsuit and knocked it off of the convoy.

"That takes care of him!" Rachael said getting back up.

"Where's William?" Samuel asked.

"He's coming," Rachael said.

William was running after the convoy.

"Man, why do I have to be so slow?" William asked just before he saw two more of the mechsuits and some land vehicles pass by him.

"Oh, no," William said pulling out his Scroll.

As soon as he heard the ringtone, Samuel pulled his Scroll out.

"This had better be important," Samuel said.

"You've got company!" William said.

Samuel looked behind the convoy and saw the land vehicles and mechsuits approaching the convoy.

"Thanks for the update," Samuel said just before hanging up.

William put his Scroll away and saw one more jeep-like vehicle coming his way.

"Hmm," William thought.

Oddly enough, the mechsuits ran beside the convoy.

"Wait, what are they doing?" Samuel asked.

The mechsuits got in front of the convoy and stopped its advance.

"They're keeping us from moving!" Rachael said.

"Everybody move out of the way!" William suddenly yelled.

Everybody saw William drive the jeep (and doing a bad job at it) right past the convoy.

"What is he doing?!" Rachael asked.

"Everybody, we're going to have to support him!" Samuel said.

Samuel, Rachael and Max ran to the front of the convoy while Danielle was moving to the back of the cargo container.

"Open it up," Platinum said.

Platinum, Luminous and Graviton walked into the container and began to look around.

"Boss, there's nothing in here other than robots and guns," Platinum said.

"Move aside, let me look," Coros angrily said.

Coros walked into the container and took a quick look around.

"See, nothing," Graviton said.

"Ahem," Danielle said, clearing her throat.

The group turned towards Danielle, who was standing just outside of the container. She briefly waved to the elite guard and shorted the release circuits, causing the ship to drop the crate.

"Bye, bye," Danielle said.

"Freeze!" a soldier said, pointing a gun right at the back of Danielle's head.

"Oh man," Danielle said.

Meanwhile, Samuel, Rachael, William and Max were having trouble with the mechsuits and land vehicles.

"Aah!" Rachael cried as she got hit by a mech.

"Rachael!" William and Samuel exclaimed just before an explosion knocked them back.

Max Sentinel, Samuel and his friends were now surrounded by Black Talon soldiers, land vehicles, transports and mechsuits.

"Surrender, the convoy is ours," a soldier said.

Max stood silent.

"Not much of a talker, eh?" the soldier asked, "Ready your weapons."

The biggest transport flew over so it was viewing the whole crowd.

"Fire!" the soldier said.

And shots were fired, but not from any of the Black Talon's forces, the biggest transport had fired explosive rounds and blew some of the crowd away.

"What is this?!" a soldier asked.

The transport just continued to fire at and blow away the Black Talon soldiers. Samuel got a glimpse through the cockpit and saw Danielle was flying the transport.

"Come on, guys!" Samuel said, "Let's finish them off!"

It took a while, but the members of team SWRD, the transport and Max chased away the Black Talon's forces.

"Nice job, everybody," Samuel said as he pulled out his Scroll, "Great work, Danielle."

"Thanks," Danielle's voice replied from the Scroll.

Suddenly, a bunch of missiles, gunfire and Dust blasts shot at the transport and caused it to fall near the convoy.

"Danielle!" Samuel cried.

Team SWRD and Max ran over to the transport and saw Danielle walk out of the wreckage.

"Well, that won't be flying anymore," Danielle said.

"At least you're okay," Samuel said.

"Come on, we need to get the convoy moving," Danielle said.

It took about ten minutes, but the convoy began to make its way towards Vale again.

A few hours later, the convoy arrived at Vale and team SWRD left to head back to Beacon (Max Sentinel decided to go check some nearby shops).

"Man, that was crazy," Rachael said.

"Yeah," Samuel said, "I think I've had enough fighting for one morning."

Suddenly, a section of the ground in a nearby plaza burst open, rubble flew everywhere, part of a subway train poked its head out of the floor and the members of team RWBY were sitting on top of all it.

"What in the world?" Samuel asked.

Team RWBY got up and looked around. Moments later, the ground began to shake. Suddenly, a massive King Taigenta and swarms of other kinds of Grimm shot out of the ground.

"Samuel, I think we're in for some more fighting that we wanted," Danielle said.

"Look at the size of those Grimm!" Rachael said.

A Death Stalker and a few Grimm charged at team SWRD.

"Pull back!" Samuel said.

As the Grimm began to flood the city, team SWRD ran away.


	23. Fight or Flee?

"Here it comes!" William cried.

"Move!" Samuel exclaimed.

Team SWRD dodged the attack of a Death Stalker.

"Quick, find cover!" Samuel said.

Samuel and his group looked around.

"Follow me!" Danielle said.

Danielle led the team down an alley and into a bakery.

"We should be safe here," Danielle said.

Rachael was in the corner, crying.

"Rachael, what's going on?" Samuel asked.

"This is all too familiar," Rachael said, "An invasion, merciless attackers, and us running."

"Rachael, we don't stand a chance against an army of Grimm like that," Samuel said, "We had to run."

"No. We didn't." William angrily said.

"What?" Samuel asked.

"We could have stood up; instead we're acting like little children!" William said.

"The Black Talon is one thing," Samuel said, "But an army is another."

"What difference does it make?" William asked, "We're training to be Huntsmen."

Danielle glared at William.

"And Huntresses." William added, "We don't run from a fight."

"No, we're not Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training," Samuel said, "We came to Beacon because we needed sanctuary. That was the only reason."

"And, sometimes, reasons change," William said.

"If you want to get yourself killed, I'm fine with that, but I'm not risking my life for people I don't even know!" Samuel said.

"Oh yeah?" William asked.

"STOP IT!" Danielle yelled.

Suddenly, Samuel and William stopped arguing.

"We've been in this situation before," Danielle said, "And we pulled through."

"No, we haven't been in this situation before," Samuel said.

"Not the fighting, the arguing," Danielle said, "And that almost tore us apart before. Will you let it tear us apart now?"

Nobody else said a word.

"We need to pull together and defeat this enemy," Danielle said, "Are you with me, or not?"

Everybody stood silent for a moment.

"I'm with you," William said.

"I'm in," Rachael said.

Danielle looked at Samuel.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to go on without me," Samuel said.

"If that's what you want…" Danielle said.

"Let's go," William said.

Rachael and William ran out of the bakery, but Danielle stopped at the doorframe for a moment, looked at Samuel and then followed Rachael and William.

"I just…I can't do it," Samuel said.

Samuel began to cry, like his sister did.

"And now I'm going to lose them," Samuel said.

Suddenly, a King Taigenta cried out. Samuel lifted his head up just in time to see it smash the bakery's front wall and cause the building to collapse around him.

When Samuel came to, he could see that he was now in a small enclosed space; the debris had just missed him.

"Now I'm trapped," Samuel said, "It's hopeless."

Samuel laid on the ground as tears streamed down his cheeks, believing that all was lost. But then Samuel heard the rubble above him shifting.

"Is someone there?" Samuel asked.

The roof of smashed wall over Samuel moved away and Samuel could see Max Sentinel.

"Max!" Samuel exclaimed, "I'm so glad to see you!"

Max stood silent.

"What's wrong?" Samuel asked, "Aren't you going to help me out?"

Max closed his eyes for a moment, reached his hand down and pulled Samuel out.

"Someday, I won't be around to help you," Max's sign displayed.

"Yeah, you keep reminding me of that," Samuel said.

"Come on, the people need your help," Max's sign displayed just before he began to walk off.

"No." Samuel said.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Max's sign displayed.

"I can't help," Samuel said, "Those Grimm are too much for anybody."

"Where's the rest of your team?" Max's sign displayed.

"I told them not to, but they're taking part in a suicide mission to stop those Grimm," Samuel said.

"Samuel, I'm going to tell you a story," Max's sign displayed.

"Please, not now," Samuel said.

"I insist," Max's sign displayed.

"Alright, fine," Samuel said.

"It was back when I was a student at Beacon. I was part of team SHMR, which consisted of Henry John Selkie Silverhart, her brother Regi Silverhart and me." Max's sign displayed, "We were the best of friends, family even."

"What happened?" Samuel asked.

"We all got in a big fight one day, and that turned into a week, a month, etcetera, etcetera," Max's sign displayed, "After our four years at Beacon, none of us really wanted to see the others again."

"Wow, that's terrible." Samuel said, "But what has that got to do with me?"

"It has much to do with your team," Max's sign displayed, "If you all don't get past what you fight each other on, the same will happen to you."

Max began to walk away again.

"So, unless you want to sit here and mope, go find your team and make amends," Max's sign displayed.

Max jumped off after a few mid-sized Nevermores while Samuel thought about what Max said.

"I know what I need to do," Samuel said.

Samuel walked into the street and started to walk down it. But he heard a sound that made him stop; it was some airships from Beacon carrying all of the available students.

"It's the cavalry!" Samuel said.

One of the airships landed next to Samuel, the doors opened and revealed Team CFVY and Professor Port.

"Need a lift?" Coco asked.

"You guys couldn't have shown up at a better time," Samuel said.

"Hop in," Yatsuhashi said.

Samuel boarded the airship and it flew up into the sky.

"Can you believe that something like this is happening?" Velvet asked.

"No," Samuel said, "It seemed impossible."

"Look out!" Rachael cried.

Samuel looked out of the side of the airship and saw his team fighting a group of Death Stalkers.

"We're going to need backup!" William said.

Samuel watched as a Death Stalker grabbed Danielle with its pincers.

"It's your team!" Velvet said.

"What're you going to do?" Yatsuhashi asked.

Samuel took in a deep breath and looked over at team CFVY.

"I'm going to do what I should have a long time ago," Samuel said, "Act like a Huntsman and help those in trouble."

"Oh, ho, that's the spirit!" Port said.

"No matter the cost," Samuel said, and he meant it.

"Spoken like a true Huntsman," Port said.

Samuel nodded and turned around.

"Good luck," Velvet said.

Samuel jumped out of the ship, ready to do whatever it took to save the day.


	24. Do Whatever It Takes

Chapter 23: Do whatever it takes.

"Guys, we need to get the central plaza!" Danielle said, "That's where the Grimm are coming from!"  
Suddenly, a group of Death Stalkers ran in from an intersection and cut off the members of Team SWRD.  
"Looks like we're going to have to go through them!" Danielle said.  
The team members attacked the Death Stalkers, but they didn't seem to be doing any damage.  
"Look out!" Rachael cried.  
A Death Stalker tried to stab Rachael with its stinger but missed.  
"We're going to need backup!" William said.  
A Death Stalker grabbed Danielle with its pincers.  
"Danielle!" Rachael and William cried.  
"Let go of her!" a familiar voice cried.  
The team members looked up and saw Samuel skydiving towards the Death Stalkers. Samuel a vial of Fire Dust into his nightstick and stabbed the Death Stalker that was holding Danielle right in the head, causing it to disintegrate and let go of Danielle.  
"Is that Samuel?" Rachael asked.  
Samuel stuck a vial of Energy Dust into the nightstick turned it into its assault rifle form and used the Dust to tear the last two Death Stalkers to pieces.  
"Alright, where's Samuel and what have you done with him?" William asked.  
"Team, we need to get going," Samuel said.  
"What, so we can run and hide?" Danielle asked.  
"No, we've got to save the people," Samuel said, "And do whatever it takes to do so."  
"What happened to you?" Danielle asked.  
"I had a chat with Max Sentinel," Samuel said, "Now come on; we've got a city to protect."  
Samuel ran to the central plaza as his teammates followed him. But their trip was delayed by a nearby voice.  
"Help!" a civilian cried.  
"Guys, we're taking a slight detour," Samuel said.  
Team SWRD ran to the origin of the cry for help, and saw a family surrounded by a whole lot of Grimm.  
"There are so many," Rachael said.  
"It doesn't matter," Samuel said, "We have a job to do."  
Samuel ran over to the Grimm.  
"Hey, ugly!" Samuel cried.  
The Grimm just ignored Samuel.  
"It's no good; that family is generating too much negative emotion!" Danielle said.  
"Then let's take advantage of that!" Samuel said.  
Samuel aimed his assault rifle at the Grimm and let loose, his teammates did the same. This got the attention of the Grimm really quick.  
"Here they come!" William said.  
"Let 'em have it!" Samuel said.  
Samuel used the Energy Dust in his weapon, and the nightstick form, to make an Energy blade.  
He used this to cut through a couple Beowulves, he then proceeded to slice down an Ursa.  
"Wow, Samuel's definitely different," Danielle said.  
"I like his new style!" William said, "Lead by example!"  
William pulled out his broadsword and hacked his way through some Creeps (the two-legged Grimm that resemble dinosaurs). Rachael used her guns to take out a few of the incoming Nevermores and Danielle clubbed an Ursa across the face.  
Only a few seconds later, the foursome had taken down the Grimm that were attacking the family.  
"Thank you," the dad said.  
"Just doing our job," Samuel said.  
"We saw a large group of Grimm that were heading for the Dust Storage facilty," the mom said.  
"If the Grimm destroy the Dust Storage, we could have a major disaster on our hands!" Danielle said.  
"Not mention that Vale will be out of Dust, due to the recent robberies," Rachael said.  
"Alright, Team SWRD; we're off to the Dust Storage facility," Samuel said, "The fate of Vale lies in our hands."

* * *

Meanwhile, Vandal Black was receiving some disappointing news.  
"The raid on the Atlas convoy was a bust," a Black Talon technician said.  
"Any word from Coros?" Vandal asked.  
"No, his transport was shot down during the attack," the technician said.  
"If he survived that battle, I'll make sure he suffers," Vandal said.

* * *

Later, at the Dust Storage facility, the Grimm were approaching fast. But Team SWRD was already there.  
"Okay, team, we need to get ready for the attack," Samuel said, "And since everybody else is busy slowing down the invasion, we're all that stands between the Grimm and a disaster."  
"Here they come!" Rachael said, pointing to the incoming swarm of Grimm.  
"Team SWRD," Samuel said, "This is it."  
The team prepared their ranged weapons.  
"Fire!" Samuel said.

As the Grimm ran closer, more and more were shot down. By the point they were within one hundred feet, they were all killed.

"That was…easy," William said, "I'm almost disappointed."  
"Do you hear that?" Danielle asked as her fox ears twitched.  
"Hear what?" Rachael asked.  
After a moment, the rest of Team SWRD heard it too, it was like a stampede. About ten seconds later, a massive pack of Grimm came running towards the Dust Storage from any direction imaginable. There were Beowulves, Ursa, Nevermores, Death Stalkers, Boarbusks (if that's not the cannon name, please tell me what the name is in the reviews and I will make the edit), and a King Taigenta.

"Om my…that's a lot of Grimm," Rachael said.

"I don't think we stand a chance," William said.  
"Samuel, what do you think?" Danielle asked.  
"…If this is it, then we go down as Huntsmen and Huntresses," Samuel said, "Ready your weapons."  
The foursome readied to defend against the Grimm.  
"Attack!" Samuel said.  
The team ran at the army of incoming Grimm and swung at, cut through, shot at and killed quite a few Grimm. But after a few minutes, Team SWRD began to be overcome by the Grimm.  
"Team, it was an honor," Samuel said.  
"Likewise," Rachael said.  
"It was fun," William said.  
"I wouldn't want anybody else by my side at the end," Danielle said.  
Just as Team SWRD was about to fall, they saw a familiar figure leap off of one of the nearby rooftops and kill the Grimm that were on top of the team. It was Max Sentinel.  
"Max!" Team SWRD exclaimed happily.  
Max ran back to Team SWRD.  
"Good thing you four got here when you did," Max's sign displayed, "Otherwise the first group of Grimm would have destroyed the Dust Storage."  
"But are you sure that the five of us can stop all of these Grimm?" Samuel asked.  
"I texted some help," Max's sign displayed.  
A VTOL transport flew up over the Dust Storage. It opened its doors and a whole bunch of students dropped out of it, including Team CRDL, Penny's team and a few of the other exchange student teams.  
"Max, this is such a big help," Samuel said.  
"Don't thank me yet, we still have to save the Dust Storage," Max's sign displayed.  
The teams charged at the waves of incoming Grimm. Team CRDL was taking on a Death Stalker, at one point, it was going to stab Cardin with its stinger, but Max saved Cardin's sorry butt (mostly out of pity).  
Penny and her teammates were plowing through the Grimm, but things really helped when Penny's superlaser sliced through a group of incoming Nevermores.  
The exchange teams were doing really well defending their areas as team SWRD and Max blocked the northern swarm of Grimm from reaching the Dust Storage.

* * *

After a little while, the Grimm were stopped.  
"Whew, that was intense," William said.  
"Yeah," Rachael said, "I'm ready to call it a day."  
After a bit, all of the victorious students began to talk to one another.  
"Hey, can I talk to you?" Danielle asked following after Penny and her teammate.  
"Salutations," Penny said turning towards Danielle.  
"I saw how your weapons work," Danielle said, "It was amazing, how do you do it?"  
"It's a secret," Penny said.  
"So, what're your names?" Danielle asked.  
"My name is Penny, and this is my teammate: Ciel," Penny said.  
"My name is…" Danielle said.  
"Danielle Riki. 17. Hails from Vale. A member of Team SWRD. Status…exhausted," Ciel said.  
"Wow, how do you know all that?" Danielle asked.  
"Beacon houses the records of all current students and teachers in the main database," Ciel said.  
"Okay," Danielle said, "I saw your team fighting those Grimm, it was almost like you were programmed for battle."  
"Well, things do seem that way, don't they?" Penny asked.  
"Penny, we need to get going," Ciel said.  
"Alright," Penny replied, "It was nice meeting you."  
"Likewise," Danielle said.

* * *

Minutes later, after most of the students had left the area, Team SWRD and Max were left to talk.  
"So, Samuel, I heard you were quite the leader out there," Max's sign displayed.  
"Yeah, he's leading like…well…a true leader," William said.  
"That's my bro," Rachael said.  
"Gee, thanks," Samuel said, "But it was nothing."  
"Nothing?" Danielle asked, "We helped keep Vale from suffering a disaster on top of what happened."  
"I guess we did," Samuel said, "Alright, Team SWRD, who's ready to go back to Beacon and get some rest?"  
The rest of the team agreed and was about to set off for Beacon, but a sudden explosion right behind them, at the Dust Storage's main entrance, stopped their leave.  
"What was that?!" Rachael asked.  
The team looked at the smoke covering the Dust Storage's entrance and saw four shadowy figures leaving the building.  
"Who're they?" William asked.  
Suddenly, Danielle remembered who she saw on the airship earlier.  
"Oh, no," Danielle said.  
Coros, Platinum, Graviton and Luminous walked out of the smoke, and they were loaded with Dust Vials.  
"Hello, Team SWRD," Coros said, "Happy to see me?"  
"Coros?" Samuel asked.


	25. Dust to Dust (Season 2 finale)

"Attack!" Coros said.  
Coros, Platinum, Graviton and Luminous ran at the members of team SWRD.  
"Alright, team," Samuel said, "Up for another round?"  
"Against these guys?" William asked, "I'm all in."  
"Count me in," Rachael said.  
"I'm right behind you," Danielle said.  
"Team SWRD, let's go!" Samuel said.  
Samuel, Rachael, William and Max ran at the Elite Guard while Danielle used her jetpack to get up on top of a nearby building.  
Luminous pulled out her light blade and swung it at Rachael; she jumped over it and shot at Luminous with her pistols. But Luminous moved back and fired her laser gun at Rachael; the shots made contact and hit her back a little.  
"Wow, that thing packs a punch," Rachael said.  
"Now to shut the curtains on you," gloomy, black-haired Luminous said as the area around Rachael turned pitch black

* * *

"Ragh!" William cried as he swung his broadsword at Graviton but missed.  
Graviton jumped back, floated in the air and fired a bunch of missiles from his launcher.  
"Oh mama," William said.  
William tried to block the missiles with his sword, but the impact sent him flying.  
"Y'know, mate, you don't stand a chance against me," Graviton said.  
"Yaah!" William yelled as he charged towards Graviton.  
Graviton moved to the side, put his foot out and tripped William, he then used his Semblance to keep William on the ground.  
"Actually, you can't even stand," Graviton asked as he pointed his missile launcher at William's head.

* * *

A sniper's bullet flew by Coros and Platinum.  
"Sniper on the roof!" Coros said.  
"Got it," Platinum said.  
Platinum turned her skin metal by holding onto her swords and ran at the building that Danielle was shooting them from.  
"Going down!" Platinum said as she smashed the corner of the building until it began to crumble.  
"Uh, oh," Danielle said.  
The building's corner fell, but Danielle was nowhere to be seen.  
"Where'd she go?" Platinum asked.  
A bullet hit metal Platinum in the back; she turned around and saw Danielle in the air.  
"Darn jetpack," Platinum said.  
Platinum looked to her left and saw a water pipe.  
"This could be useful," Platinum said.  
Platinum smashed the pipe and water shot out, when the flow had stopped, Platinum was gone.  
"Where is she?" Danielle asked.  
A sudden burst of water shot towards Danielle and shorted out her jetpack (it only worked because it was on), this caused Danielle to fall to the ground.  
"Ow," Danielle said.  
"Freeze," Platinum said as she put her swords next to Danielle's neck in a scissor formation, "Your kind must pay for what you have done."

* * *

Meanwhile, Coros was battling Samuel and Max.  
"Why do you work with them!?" Coros asked as he exchanged blows with Max and Samuel.  
"With who?" Samuel asked.  
"The Faunas!" Coros said.  
"Because they're my friends!" Samuel said.  
"Friends?!" Coros asked, "The Faunas are filthy animals!"  
"Then how can you live with yourself?" Samuel asked.  
"What do you mean?" Coros asked.  
"Look at yourself!" Samuel said, "Is this what working for the Black Talon gets you!?"  
"It is only a punishment," Coros said, "In order to become a better person, one must go through discipline."  
"If you were a better person, you would leave the Black Talon behind!" Samuel said.  
"Bah! It's people like you who pollute the world," Coros said, "Allowing those…creatures…to survive!"  
Coros hit Samuel back and aimed his gun arm at him.  
"Now to clean up your mess," Coros said.  
Coros's gun arm glowed with hints of red, but the attack was blocked by Max as he put his axe in the way.  
"Why you…" Coros said, "You're always getting in my way! I was this close to killing those kids a long time ago, but you had to screw things up!"  
"Wait, what?" Samuel asked.  
"This Faunas has stopped me from killing your group almost five years ago!" Coros said, "If it weren't for him, you'd be dead right now!"  
Coros's gun arm glowed purple and sent a blast that launched both him and Max many feet away.  
"What was that!?" Samuel asked, "Max!"  
Samuel ran over to Max and checked on him. When he got there, Max pulled out his sign.  
"Don't worry about me, go save your teammates," Max's sign displayed.  
"Okay," Samuel said just before getting up, "Let's do this."  
Samuel looked around and saw that his teammates were all in trouble.  
"How to handle this…" Samuel thought for a bit.  
Coros got up and aimed his gun arm at Samuel, it glowed green and sent a blast of Energy Dust towards Samuel. Samuel got hit in the back with the Energy Dust.  
"Yes…" Coros said.  
Coros stumbled his way over to Samuel and aimed the gun at him.  
"Hmm," Samuel moaned rolling over and seeing the gun pointing at him.  
"Prepare to die," Coros said.

* * *

Rachael was swinging blindly in the darkness, unable to get a hit on Luminous.

"Having trouble seeing clearly?" Luminous asked, "How about you see the light instead?"  
The darkness suddenly turned super bright.  
"Agh!" Rachael cried, covering her eyes.  
Luminous began to walk towards Rachael's back with her light blade activated.  
"Calm yourself," Rachael thought, "And think."  
Rachael suddenly got an idea, she readied herself and began to spin around, letting loose with bulletfire. Eventually, a few lucky shots hit Luminous and broke her concentration, making everything return to normal around Rachael.

* * *

"Time for you to go out with a bang," Graviton said.  
"What to do?" William thought, "Wait."  
"Any last words?" Graviton asked.  
"Yeah, hold on," William said.  
Graviton bore a confused expression just before William used his Semblance to send him flying, and letting William move again.  
"That's so much better," William said getting up.

* * *

"In honor of my father," Platinum said, preparing the slice through Danielle.  
"I'm afraid the honors will have to wait," Danielle said.  
Danielle used her Semblance to electrocute Platinum and then hit away her by swinging her sniper rifle like a club.  
"That was a close cut," Danielle said.  
Danielle looked over at Samuel.  
"Samuel!" Danielle said.

* * *

"Time to end this!" Coros said as he readied another Energy Dust attack.  
The gun arm fired a burst of Energy at Samuel, Danielle and the others cried out as it flew closer.  
But Samuel cleverly made a blade of Energy Dust come out of his nightstick and block Coros's attack.  
"I've been getting better," Samuel said, "Unlike you."  
"Grr," Coros growled.  
The rest of the Elite Guard approached Coros.  
"Shall we mount one last attack?" Platinum asked.  
Coros looked at how Team SWRD had just beaten them all, and then at the hole they made in the Dust Storage's entrance.  
"No, retreat," Coros said.  
Coros and the Elite Guard began to run away.  
"But not without leaving them with a calling card," Coros said.  
Coros aimed his gun arm at the Dust Storage's entrance and fired a burst of Fire Dust.  
"No!" Team SWRD cried.  
But Max got up and blocked the attack with his axe.  
"Down, but not out," Max's sign displayed.  
"Get them!" Samuel said.  
But before anybody could do anything, a flash of light from Luminous temporarily blinded Team SWRD. When the light faded, the Elite Guard was gone.  
"Guys, Coros got away," Danielle said.  
"Well, we did our job," Rachael said, "We protected the Dust Storage."  
"And that's what matters," William said.  
"Correct," Samuel said, "Now come on, Team SWRD, let's head back to Beacon."  
"Yeah, I could use a rest," William said.  
"Let's get going," Rachael said.  
The team joined up with Teams CFVY, RWBY, JNPR and SSSN and everybody exchanged stories about the day as everybody rode in a large VTOL back to Beacon.

* * *

Later, Coros arrived back at Black Talon HQ.  
"How dare you show up here empty-handed?" Vandal Black asked.  
"I'm not totally empty-handed," Coros said, "We did manage to salvage the tech in the crate that we fell in, and we brought back a bunch of Dust from the Dust Storage in Vale."  
"I guess you're right," Vandal Black said, "And our original goal was to snatch some Atlas tech. You did fine. But don't expect any more praise than that."  
Vandal Black walked off, leaving Coros and the Elite Guard to discuss their mission.  
"Sir," a Black Talon soldier said approaching Vandal, "Our scouts have learned of some very important news."  
"What is it?" Vandal asked.  
"The White Fang is planning to attack Beacon within the next few weeks," the soldier said.  
"Is that so?" Vandal asked, "Then notify our troops, as soon as the White Fang makes its move, we shall be there to…witness it."  
"At once, sir," the soldier said, and walked away to leave Vandal to his own thoughts.  
"And there, I shall finish what I started so long ago," Vandal said, "Vengeance will be mine."


	26. Season 3 Teaser

Some papers fell off of the desk in Max's office; a woman wearing a cool visor was searching through the various papers.  
"Where is it?" the woman thought.  
After a bit, she found what she was looking for.  
"There you are," she said.  
Suddenly, the knob on the door to Max Sentinel's office began to turn.  
"Uh, oh," the woman said.  
The woman grabbed what she was looking for and the door opened, letting Samuel in.  
"Now where's that file he wanted me to grab?" Samuel asked.  
Samuel looked straight at the shadowy figure of the woman.  
"Hey, what are you doing in here?" Samuel asked, "This is private property!"  
The woman stood there, silently.  
"Won't talk, probably just a common thief," Samuel said, "And trespassing is a crime."  
Samuel pulled out his nightstick and the woman pulled out a small weapon that made a spiral blade of light and illuminated off of her mask. Samuel leapt at the woman, without thinking of turning the lights on, and swung his nightstick at her. The woman front flipped over Samuel and kicked him in the back, knocking him down. Then she made a break for the window.  
Samuel turned his nightstick into its rifle form and fired Ice Dust bullets at the woman. The woman moved to the side and dodged the attack, but Samuel jumped at her, swung his nightstick and got a lucky hit, knocking the woman down.  
"Now to see who's behind that mask," Samuel said.  
Suddenly, Max burst in, turned the light on and got between Samuel and the woman.  
"Leave, now," Max's sign displayed.  
"But she…" Samuel said.  
"Now," Max's sign displayed.  
Samuel left the room and shut the door behind him.  
"Hi, miss me?" the woman asked.  
"Why'd you come to Beacon?" Max's sign displayed.  
"I was just thinking that, you know, maybe it was time to get the team back together," the woman said handing Max what she took. It was a picture of Max, the woman standing there, a 9-foot tall gorilla Faunas and another male human, and the picture looked like it had been taken about ten years ago.  
"Because you know what's about to happen," the woman said.  
Max nodded, put the picture back on his desk, led the woman out, shut the door behind him and turned the lights off. Just the light from a desk lamp was all that illuminated the picture of Max's old team.


	27. RWBY CHIBI: Cloak and SWRD teaser

The set of RWBY CHIBI's title card was completely empty, at least until Chibi Samuel North walked into it.

"Oh, hi!" Samuel said looking at the reader, "I...uh...I don't know how to say this, but I guess I might as well tell you about the new series we're doing."

The title card from the main show fell down behind Samuel, startling him.

"Aah!" Samuel screamed, "Well, uh, yeah. We're making a CHIBI series for Cloak and SWRD. We don't have a lot of skits planned, so if you have ideas, please post a review with your ideas. And, as an added bonus, you can include some OCs of your choice in your clip."

Samuel looked back at the props behind him.

"So, see you after Season 3 of Cloak and SWRD." Samuel said, before turning around, "You know, I thought that there were more props."

The studio began to shake.

"SEE YOU THEN!" Samuel cried as he ran out of the studio.

A giant sword prop and the words "Cloak and SWRD" fell from the ceiling; making the new show's title card, which said "RWBY CHIBI: Cloak and SWRD".

(If you have skit ideas, please post them in the reviews).


	28. PRYM-al Instinct (Season 3 Premier)

**Hey, everyone, as you can see Cloak and SWRD Season 3 is here. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Welcome to the Vytal Festival tournament!" Professor Port announced.  
"Greetings," Doctor Oobleck said, "We're just about to begin this year's tournament with our first match; Team SWRD of Beacon and Team PRYM of Shade!"  
"Both of these teams have quite a reputation in their home schools," Port said, "Team PRYM is ranked number three in this tournament and is the only all-Faunas team from their school and Team SWRD is known for their friendly nature."

* * *

Teams SWRD and PRYM (which consisted of a lion Faunas, lizard-like Faunas wearing samurai armor, a snake Faunas and a dolphin Faunas) took their sides and stood ready.  
"Got a lot of Faunas on your team," the male lion Faunas member of Team PRYM said.  
"Yeah, we do," Samuel said.  
"Do y'all git along?" the female snake Faunas asked with a southern drawl.  
"I guess," Danielle said.  
"Whoa," William said looking at a Faunas wearing Samurai armor with a lizard tail protruding out the rear, "Are you a lizard Faunas?"  
"Actually, I'm a dragon Faunas," the male dragon Faunas said, "I heard you're one tough bear."  
"You got that right," Rachael said.  
"Hey, I like your outfit," the female dolphin Faunas said to Rachael.  
"Thanks," Rachael said, "Yours looks good too."  
"Before the fight starts, can we get some names?" the Lion Faunas asked.  
"My name is Samuel North, and my teammates here are my sister, Rachael; and our good friends Danielle Riki and William Claw," Samuel replied, "And you?"  
"My name is Pryce Pride," the lion Faunas replied.  
"I'm Raiden Riokusaki," the dragon Faunas said.  
"The name's Yolanda Yosemite," the snake said, "And being a Huntress-in-trainin' is my game."  
"Mia Amillia," the dolphin Faunas said.  
"Oh, ho!" Port said, "The Shipwreck and the Volcanic Fields!"  
"Oh, snap!" Samuel said, "We totally forgot about the battle!"  
Team SWRD looked around and saw a volcanic area and a beach that had the ruins of ships long wrecked.  
"Begin!" Port said.  
"Let's go, guys!" Samuel said.  
The two teams charged at each other. Pryce leapt at Samuel, he countered my using his Nightstick to shove the claw weapons back.

* * *

Yolanda pulled out a lasso and swung it towards Rachael, it grabbed her arm and then she threw her into the volcanic field.  
"Rachael!" William cried, "I'm coming!"  
Suddenly, a bunch of fire swept in front of William and stopped him from reaching Rachael.  
"The traditional laws of my home prevent unfair numbers in combat," Raiden said.  
"I'm so going to knock your block off," William said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Danielle was in combat with Mia. Mia swung her sharp 'Dolfins' (this is how her weapon's name is written) at Danielle as she tried to club her with Nightfire.  
"This is getting nowhere," Danielle said.  
"You got that right," Mia said.  
Mia pulled back by doing a backflip and then ran towards the water in the Shipwreck area.  
"What's she up to?" Danielle asked.  
Danielle looked to her right and saw that her team could use some support.  
"Guess I'd better help," Danielle said.

* * *

Pryce and Samuel swung at each other, Pryce using his claw weapons and Samuel using his Dust Sword's Earth Dust format. Eventually, Pryce got some distance, and then his claws flipped back to reveal gun barrels. Samuel dodged the first wave of gunfire and then turned Northstar into its rifle form. Bullets flew between the two leaders as the rest of the fight raged on.

* * *

"Aah!" Rachael cried as she flew through the air and landed on the rocky ground.  
"Now it's just you and I, pardner," Yolanda said as her lasso's rope retracted and the whole weapon turned into a revolver with no barrel.  
"It's ain't loaded, partner," Rachael said, doing a fake southern drawl.  
Yolanda quickly pulled out a six-shooter barrel containing six Fire Dust rounds in total and put it in the revolver.  
"Dance!" Yolanda said.  
Yolanda fired her gun at Rachael, who swiftly dodged the attacks, but when she got her bearings back, she saw that Yolanda was gone.  
"Where'd she go?" Rachael asked.  
Suddenly, a bunch of Ice stuck Rachael's feet to the ground, Yolanda's whip wrapped her up and then Yolanda became visible in front of Rachael.  
"Lookee what I caught," Yolanda said just before hitting Rachael in the face with her foot.

* * *

"Yagh!" William cried as he swung Quake at Raiden, who blocked the attack with the armor on his arms.  
"You're definitely tough, but you don't have any strategy," Raiden said.  
"Oh yeah?" William asked.  
William stomped the ground and huge chunk of volcanic rock came up and launched Raiden into the air.  
"Look, dragons **can** fly," William said.  
Raiden curled up, and then shot fire towards William.  
"Oh mama," William said as the fire approached.  
Danielle flew by and pulled William out of the way.  
"Thanks!" William said, "Now to find Rachael."  
Danielle flew to the Shipwreck and went to the crow's nest of the tallest ship and used her rifle to look around.  
"Where'd she go?" Danielle thought.  
Danielle observed the water and tired to find Mia, but what she didn't know that she was closer than she thought.  
"Yaah!" Mia cried as she shot out of the water and kicked Danielle off of the crow's nest and into the water.  
"Ow," Danielle moaned, "Lucky shot."

* * *

Samuel crouched behind his cover as Pryce fired at him.  
"Team SWRD, we need to regroup!" Samuel said.  
Samuel got up, fired at Pryce and ran towards the center of the arena.

* * *

"Rachael, where are you!?" William cried.  
William looked to his right and saw Rachael being hit by Yolanda.  
"Don't worry, I got you!" William said.  
Yolanda looked at William, pulled out a second Dust Revolver and aimed at him. Rachael saw the opportunity she had and pulled out both of her knives and used them to cut the lasso that was wrapped around her.  
"Rachael, hold on!" William said.  
Rachael broke free of the lasso and hit Yolanda down.  
"I can take care of myself," Rachael said just before heading towards the center of the arena.  
"I came to help!" William said.  
Raiden ran to Yolanda.  
"We need to regroup with Pryce and Mia at the Shipwrecks," Raiden said.  
"Got it," Yolanda said.

* * *

Team SWRD met in the center of the arena.  
"What are we up against?" Samuel asked.  
"The dragon can breathe fire and is tough," William said.  
"The dolphin is really fast," Danielle said, "And she can swim."  
"The snake has two lasso and Dust revolver weapons," Rachael said, "She can also turn invisible, or use some kind of camouflage."  
"The lion is well-rounded," Samuel said.  
Suddenly, an arrow flew by the team and then they looked over to Team PRYM who had their ranged weapons out. Pryce had his claw guns, Yolanda had her Dust revolvers, Raiden's samurai sword was now a bow, and Mia has no ranged weapons.  
"Fire!" Pryce said.  
The team shot at SWRD.  
"Pull back!" Samuel said.  
The team ran to the volcanic fields and hid behind the biggest rocks they could find.

"We're sitting right in the middle of a minefield here!" Danielle said, "If one of those bullets makes contact with a Dust Crystal, this area will blow sky-high!"  
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound could be heard.  
"What's that?" Rachael asked.  
The team peeked around the rocks and saw a huge wave of water beginning to form.  
"What the…?" William asked.  
In mere moments, a titanic wave was heading straight for Team SWRD.  
"What do we do?" Danielle asked.  
"Geez, blow up or washed away," Rachael said, "What choices."  
"Think…think…I got it!" Samuel said, "William, we need you to cause an eruption in the wave's path!"  
"Uh, okay," William said.  
William stood in front of the wave, stabbed Quake into the ground and sent a bunch of lava into the air; the lava and water collided and raised a whole lot of steam which covered the arena.

"Well, that was a smart strategy!" Oobleck said, "Using the lava to stop the wave also gave them cover so they can plan their next move."  
"I can't see anything," Raiden said.  
"Then I'll have to take care of this," Pryce said.  
Pryce ran a ways away from his team and his eyes went narrow, like a cat's, and he began to search for Team SWRD. After a bit, he found out where they were and charged at them.  
"Do you hear growling?" Rachael asked.  
Pryce leapt out of the steam and slashed at the members of Team SWRD.  
"What's with him?" Samuel asked.  
Pryce attacked each member ferociously.  
"I heard about this guy's Semblance," Danielle said, "It gives him enhanced reflexes and tracking abilities, but he becomes feral."  
"Watch out!" William said.  
Pryce leapt at Team SWRD while Team PRYM watched the Aura levels of Team SWRD drop rapidly.

* * *

"Wow, he's mauling them," Mia said.  
"Never git in the way of a feral lion," Yolanda said.

* * *

"Team PRYM's leader must have found Team SWRD!" Port said, "And like the leader of a pride, he's doing his best!"  
"It looks like Team SWRD might be out of the game here!" Oobleck said, "Wait, what's this?"  
Suddenly, Pryce came flying out of the steam and smack-dab onto the announcer's booth's window.  
"Oh my," Port said, "That was some throw."  
"Help," Pryce moaned as he hung onto the window, "I know that they say cats land their feet, BUT NOT FROM HEIGHTS LIKE THIS!"  
"I guess Pryce has suffered a ring out," Oobleck said, "Somebody please help the poor lad."

* * *

"Whoa!" Raiden said, "What happened in there?"  
"Attack!" Samuel yelled from the mist.  
Team PRYM's remaining members looked into the steam and saw Team SWRD come out.  
"For Pryce!" Yolanda said.  
Team PRYM ran at Team SWRD. Samuel and Rachael dealt with Mia, William dueled with Yolanda and Danielle did battle with Raiden.  
Mia swung her Dolfins at Rachael, but she blocked them with her knives and then Samuel whacked her down with his nightstick.  
"Mia Amillia is eliminated by Aura Level!" Port said, trying to see the Aura Level screen through Pryce.

* * *

"Yah!" William cried as he swung at Yolanda.  
Yolanda jumped up, grabbed William's arm with her lasso, pulled and slammed him into the ground.  
"William!" Rachael said.  
"William Claw is eliminated by Aura Level!" Oobleck said.  
"One down, three to go," Yolanda said.  
"You just beat up my boyfriend," Rachael said.  
"And whadda'ya gonna do about it?" Yolanda asked.  
Rachael used her Semblance to rush right at Yolanda before she could react and hit her down with a couple of punches and kicks.  
"It's a slaughter out there!" Oobleck said, "Yolanda Yosemite is eliminated!"

* * *

"Danielle, need some help?" Samuel asked as he ran over to her and Raiden.  
Raiden breathed some fire and Danielle used her Flamethrower to counter the flames.  
"Yes I could!" Danielle said.  
"Rachael, get Danielle out of there!" Samuel said, "I'll keep Raiden busy!"  
Samuel shot at Raiden, he turned towards Samuel and ran at him as Rachael and Danielle circled around and charged towards Raiden.  
Samuel pulled out his Dust Sword and prepared to counter, but Rachael and Danielle knocked Raiden down by using the Jet-Cat attack.  
"You okay?" Danielle asked.  
"Your timing was perfect," Samuel said.  
"Wow, it seems that Team SWRD managed to defeat Team PRYM and are moving to the next round!" Port said.  
"It was truly an amazing battle!" Oobleck said.  
Team SWRD ran over to William and tried to pull him up as the rest of Team PRYM got back up.  
"That was a crazy battle," Raiden said, "Good teamwork."  
"Thanks," Danielle said.  
"So, who wants some victory food?" Samuel asked.  
"Food?!" William asked shooting up, "I'm in!"  
"Of course," Rachael said.  
But everybody in the arena almost forgot about one thing.  
"Hello?!" Pryce asked, "LION ON A LEDGE HERE!"

* * *

 **Please review, constructive criticism is welcome. Remember, new chapters are uploaded every, or every other, Thursday.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	29. Apples and ORNGs

"That smells so good," William said, smelling the air of the fairgrounds.  
"Where did Coco say to meet?" Danielle asked.  
"Over there," Samuel said pointing at a stand that was selling noodles.  
The team went over to the stand and met up with Team CFVY.  
"Hey, nice to see you all," Coco said.  
"Yeah, we haven't got to have a nice chat for a while," Rachael said, "How're you all doing?"  
"Pretty good, thanks for asking," Velvet replied, "How about you?"  
"Well, after the whole attack on Vale, I think that we're doing much better than usual," Samuel replied.  
"Good to hear," Yatsuhashi replied.  
"Enough small talk, where's the food?" William asked.

* * *

Moments later, the old shopkeeper came out from the kitchen in the back and put a bunch of large bowls filled with noodles in front of each team member.  
"Dig in," Coco said.  
"I thought you'd never say that," William said.

* * *

For the next ten minutes, everybody ate (but mostly William, he ate whatever the others couldn't).  
"Mmm," Samuel said, "That was pretty good."  
"We watched your fight," Velvet said.  
"What about it?" Rachael asked.  
"You guys are doing much better than before," Velvet said.  
"I heard about how you guys had that huge fight a while back," Coco said, "Sounded pretty serious."  
"Well, even though we resolved it, we're just a little less connected in battle," Samuel said.  
"Hi-i-i-i!" a woman's voice said.  
Samuel turned towards the voice; only to have a twenty-nine year old, South American, fox Faunas, who was wearing a short rose-gold dress, sturdy black boots and a stylish visor, tackle/hug him.  
"Samuel!" Danielle said as she pulled the woman off of Samuel, "Are you okay?"  
"Ow, did anybody get the number of that truck?" Samuel asked as he got up.  
Samuel looked at the woman, he recognized her as the woman who was in Max's office a few nights ago.  
"What're you doing here?" Samuel asked as he prepared his weapon.  
Suddenly, Max Sentinel got between Samuel and the woman.  
"Don't worry, she's with me," Max's sign displayed, "She's an old friend."  
"Then what was she doing in your office a little while back?" Samuel asked.  
"I was trying to find Max," the woman said, "I needed to talk to him."  
"You could have just called," Danielle said.  
"I prefer to be up close and personal," the woman said.  
"Yeah, I got that," Samuel said.  
"My name is Selkie," the woman now known as 'Selkie' said, "And yours?"  
"My name is…" Samuel said.  
"Samuel North," Selkie said, interrupting Samuel, "And your teammates' names are Rachael North, William Claw and Danielle Riki."  
"I told her your names," Max's sign displayed.  
"Why did you ask us our names if you already knew?" Rachael asked.  
"I like messing with people," Selkie said, "Just like how I let you get that free hit."  
"Wait, what?" Samuel asked.  
"I saw your fight," Selkie said, "It's quite impressive to defeat a rank-three team."  
"Thanks," Danielle said.  
"Your fight is coming up next, isn't it?" Selkie asked Team CFVY.  
"Yes it is," Yatsuhashi said, "We have been preparing for this tournament."  
"Would Teams CFVY and ORNG report to the arena immediately?" Port said over the speakers in the fairgrounds.  
"Well then," Coco said, "It's time we go."  
Teams CFVY and SWRD got up and, along with Max and Selkie, made their way to Amity coliseum.

* * *

"Greetings once again," Port said over the speakers, "And welcome to the second battle of this astounding tournament!"  
"In this match, we have Team CFVY of Beacon battling Team ORNG of Atlas!" Oobleck said, "This one should be quite interesting."  
The holographic screens appeared around the arena and began cycling through the various arena segments.  
"The Forest and the Digital Domain!" Port said as the screens selected each half of the arena. (The Digital Domain is the one with all of the floating platforms).  
The teams prepared for battle.  
"3, 2, 1, begin!" Port said.  
As soon as the battle began, the eagle Faunas on Team ORNG (who goes by the name of Gwendolyn Storm) spread the wings that came out of her back and took to the skies.  
"Rita, Owen, Nathan," Gwendolyn said, "I have our eyes in the sky."

* * *

Team CFVY ran at the Team ORNG members that were on the ground.  
Suddenly, Rita pulled back and Owen and Nathan pulled out their weapons, a pair of Dust Gauntlets and a bo staff respectively. Owen and Nathan began to swing their weapons at the Team CFVY members.  
"Fox, go get that 'Rita' girl!" Coco said.  
Fox nodded and ran into the forest. Fox searched around for Rita, but suddenly, vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around him.  
"…!" Fox reacted.  
"A little tied-up?" Rita asked as she came out from behind a tree.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other three Team CFVY members had their work cut out for them.  
"Here she comes!" Coco said.  
Gwendolyn flew down, revealed some claws that were attached to her shoes and pulled Velvet into the air.  
"Aah!" Velvet cried as she reached for her box and camera.  
"Velvet, it's not the time!" Coco said.  
Velvet sighed and looked around for another way out of Gwendolyn's grasp.

* * *

Coco and Yatsuhashi knocked Nathan and Owen down, but they got up and Nathan's weapon turned into a bazooka.  
"Pfft, men and their explosions," Coco said.  
Nathan fired his bazooka and sent Coco and Yatsuhashi flying.

* * *

Back in the forest, Fox was cutting through vine after vine.  
"Okay then," Rita said, "I suppose that vines aren't going to cut it."  
Moments later, the tree nearest to Fox reached its limbs out and grabbed him.  
"Time for some target practice," Rita said as her Dust wristbands made a pair of Blast Dust Shurikens.  
Fox lifted his arms up and down, this movement made his blades cut through the tree limbs. Then Rita threw the Blast Dust Shurikens at Fox.

* * *

Gwendolyn had taken Velvet up pretty high by this point.  
"This is your stop," Gwendolyn said.  
Gwendolyn released Velvet, but she had underestimated Velvet's maneuverability. Velvet grabbed onto Gwendolyn's arm and flipped herself onto her back.  
"This is your stop," Velvet said as she sent Gwendolyn flying towards the Digital Domain.  
Moments before impact, Velvet leapt from Gwendolyn's back and landed on the highest point of the Domain.  
"You shouldn't have done that," Gwendolyn said getting up.  
The talons on Gwendolyn's shoes detached and turned into a pair of small three-barreled shotguns. As Gwendolyn fired her guns, Velvet nimbly dodged most of the gunfire.

* * *

Coco and Yatuhashi had been dodging Nathan's rockets and Owen's Dust punches for too long.  
"That does it," Coco said, "I'm ending this!"  
Coco turned her purse into its minigun form and fired at Owen and Nathan, this sent them running for cover.  
"Gwendolyn, we need that air support!" Owen said.  
"Kinda busy here!" Gwendolyn replied.  
"We're on our own, dude," Nathan said.  
All of the sudden, Rita was launched out of the forest.  
"I could use your help!" Rita said.  
"Everybody, trade partners!" Owen said.  
Owen ran at Fox as soon as he left the forest and the two of them engaged in a close quarters fight.  
"Rita, can you help me with that machine gunner?" Nathan asked.  
"No problem!" Rita said as she made a pair of Ice Shurikens.  
"Any idea what they're planning?" Coco asked.  
"Watch out!" Yatsuhashi cried as he shoved Coco out of the way of the Shurikens and was covered with a layer of ice instead of Coco.  
"Yatsuhashi!" Coco said.  
"Now!" Rita said.  
Nathan leapt out from behind his cover and launched Coco into the air by hitting the nearby ground with a rocket.  
"Gwendolyn!" Nathan said, "We have a new target for you!"  
Gwendolyn left Velvet alone, and used her talon weapons to grab Coco, who had dropped her purse/minigun.

* * *

"Coco!" Velvet said.  
Velvet climbed down the Domain's platforms and grabbed Coco's weapon, she then proceeded to break the ice encasing Yatsuhashi.

* * *

"Nathan, you go take care of Velvet, I'm going back to help Owen!" Rita said.  
Fox and Owen were evenly matched, and when Rita arrived, that all changed.  
"Owen, get back!" Rita said.  
Owen did a back flip and Rita used both a tree and vines to restrain Fox.  
Fox bore a look that could only mean "Not again!" as Owen punched him really fast.

* * *

Coco struggled to break free of Gwendolyn's grasp. But her efforts were ill-timed and before she had the chance to escape, Gwendolyn slammed her into the ground.  
"We have a double knockout; both Coco Adele and her teammate Fox are eliminated!" Port said.

* * *

"Come on," Velvet said as she continued to break the ice encasing Yatsuhashi.  
"Looks like it's all over for you," Nathan said as he approached Velvet.  
Nathan leapt at Velvet with his bo staff, but Yatsuhashi broke out of the ice and grabbed him.  
"Leave my teammates alone," Yatsuhashi said as he threw Nathan at the ground.  
"Nathan Liko is eliminated by Aura level!" Port said.  
"Team, we need to regroup and take out the last two members of Team CFVY!" Owen said.  
Owen, Rita and Gwendolyn met in the forest. From there, Rita and Gwendolyn attacked Yatsuhashi and Velvet from a distance.  
"We can't hold out forever!" Velvet said as she and Yatsuhashi hid behind some cover.  
"I have a plan," Yatsuhashi said, "But it's risky."  
"A plan's a plan," Velvet said.

* * *

For about ten seconds, nothing happened.  
"Where are they?" Gwendolyn asked.  
"I don't know, search but don't leave the forest," Owen said.  
Rita and Gwendolyn walked off, but they were unaware of Team CFVY's presence.  
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Gwendolyn said.  
"Okay," Velvet said from above.  
Gwendolyn looked up, only to see Velvet come down from a tree and hit her in the face with Velvet's purse.

* * *

"Where are you hiding?" Owen asked as he searched the forest.  
Owen heard a noise and punched a nearby tree.  
"Oh, just a tree," Owen said.  
Owen turned around and saw Yatsuhashi in front of him.  
"Yah!" Owen cried as he swung his fist at Yatsuhashi, but he just moved to the side and Owen's hand got stuck in the tree, "Uh, oh."  
Rita heard professor Port say "Another double knockout! Gwendolyn Storm and Owen Somela are eliminated by Aura level!"

* * *

"I'm all alone," Rita said.  
Rita looked around, nervously, without seeing Velvet and Yatsuhashi coming up behind her.  
Everybody saw Rita's Aura Level go down to fourteen, thus eliminating her.  
"Rita Bloom is eliminated!" Oobleck said, "Team CFVY wins!"  
"A well-earned victory for Team CFVY!" Port said.  
"If there's one thing I have to say about your plan, it's that it worked," Velvet said.  
"Was there any doubt?" Yatsuhashi asked.

* * *

"C'mon guys, let's go congratulate them," Danielle said.  
"I can't believe she let me get a free hit," Samuel said, still thinking that he landed the blow to Selkie himself.


	30. A BCST of a Fight

**Hello everybody, here's this week's chapter. A big Shout-out to MEWTWO is awesome for use of his Team BCST group. Enjoy.**

* * *

"Welcome, everyone to our third and final match of the first day of the Vytal Festival Tournament!" Oobleck said.  
"In short, we will have three more battles tomorrow!" Port said, "But for now, let's get on with this one!"  
"In the arena now, we have Team BCST of Haven and Team COPR of Shade!" Oobleck said, "Both teams are of high rank, so this should be quite an amazing match!

* * *

Meanwhile, Teams SWRD and CFVY were preparing to watch.  
"Tell me, how come we're here again?" Rachael asked.  
"Carter Bolt asked me to bring you guys to watch their fight," William said.  
"And who's Carter?" Samuel asked.  
"A guy I met at the gym, he's a pretty cool tiger Faunas, he's also an exchange student from Haven." William said.  
"Beacon has a gym?" Samuel asked.  
"Well, it's for recreation purposes, since all of the combat exercises take place in the arena at the school," William said, "So not many people go there."  
"Makes sense," Danielle said.  
"Who're his teammates?" Rachael asked.  
"The fox Faunas is Sara Skylark, the cat Faunas is Becky Barns and the human is named Tyler Stone," William said.  
"Please quiet yourselves," Yatsuhashi said, "The fight's about to begin."

* * *

"The arena will consist of the Glacier and City sectors!" Port said as the randomizer landed on the said selections and the arena sections moved into place.  
"3, 2, 1, begin!" Oobleck said.

* * *

Immediately, both teams ran straight into the middle of the arena, except for Team COPR's leader, Cory Clas.  
"Reminds me of how I used to battle," Samuel said.  
Cory ran to the city area and found a good support spot; he assisted his team by shooting at unsuspecting targets.

* * *

"Sniper! In the building furthest to the left!" Becky said.  
"Got it!" Tyler said.  
Tyler pulled out a flute and as he played it, a swarm of micro drones flew up and at Cory.  
"Well that's not a tune worth listenin' to!" the boy known as 'Rock 'n Roll' said, "My cousin Flynt would agree on that!"  
Rock pulled his guitar out and as he played it, soundwaves shot out and blew the micro drones away from Cory.  
"Thanks, man," Cory said.

* * *

"Hey, could use your help!" the girl known as 'Oprah Ophelia' cried as she swung her old-styled scythe at Carter and Sara.  
Carter grabbed Oprah's scythe midair and threw her into COPR's male jaguar Faunas, Perry Pelegro, knocking them both down.  
"Ow," Perry said, "That Carter fellow packs a punch."  
"Then we'll save him for last," Oprah said.  
"You take care of that 'Tyler' fellow," Perry said, "I'll keep the big guy busy."  
Perry ran at Carter and Oprah made her way towards Tyler.  
"Rock, take care of Sara!" Cory said, "Help Perry!"  
"Yes, sir!" Rock said as he ran off.  
"I'll take care of Becky," Cory said.

* * *

Cory jumped out the nearest window and began to look around.  
"Where is she?" Cory wondered; unaware that Becky was watching him.  
Rock ran at Sara and swung his guitar/axe at her, but she blocked it with her mace and pushed him back somewhat.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carter and Perry were exchanging blows.  
"You're pretty good," Perry said, "Guess I'll have to use my Semblance after all."  
Immediately after Perry finished talking, he grew bigger (to at least ten feet tall) and his muscles expanded.  
"Perry smash puny Carter!" Perry said, sounding really stupid.  
Perry punched Carter and he flew into an ice wall in the Glacier area.  
"Not so tough now, huh?" Perry said.  
Carter got out of the ice and cracked his neck.  
"You so sure about that?" Carter asked.

* * *

Elsewhere, Oprah was approaching Tyler.  
"Yagh!" Oprah said as she swung her scythe at Tyler, who barely dodged it.  
"Whoa, hey now," Tyler said, "Let's not get too close."  
"I don't even like you," Oprah said in a very gothic tone.  
"Not you, your scythe was inches from my body," Tyler said.  
"Fine, if you don't like my scythe…" Oprah said.  
Oprah pressed a button her scythe and a second blade popped out, the scythe split into two metal rods that were connected by a chain.  
"Bladed numbchucks, now I've seen it all," Tyler said.  
Oprah swung her bladed numbchucks at Tyler, but he pulled out his twin nightsticks and stopped the attack.

* * *

"I know she's around here somewhere," Cory thought.  
Cory turned around one of the demolished walls and saw Becky looking left and right, but in the directions opposite to Cory.  
"She doesn't know I'm here," Cory said.  
Cory turned his rifle into a bat and ran at Becky; but when he swung the bat, Becky vanished.  
"Wait, what?" Cory asked.  
Cory looked around in a frenzied panic, trying to find Becky. What Cory didn't know was that Becky was right behind him until it was too late.  
"Surprise!" Becky said as she became visible and swung a two-foot long plasma blade that was on the end of the robotic sleeve she had on her arm at Cory, hitting him back.  
"Ow," Cory said, "That hurt."  
"See if you can find me," Becky said as she turned invisible.  
"Uhh…oh man," Cory said.

* * *

Back in the center, Rock's and Sara's weapons were clashing.  
Sara and Rock moved backwards as Sara's mace became a grenade launcher. Sara fired at Rock, but a wall of solid sound appeared in front of Rock and stopped the attack.  
"It's my turn on the mic now," Rock said as he launched a bunch of soundwaves that sent Sara flying.  
Rock turned towards Cory and saw that he was panicking, even though Becky was standing right there.  
"Cory, what are you doing!?" Rock said, "She's right there!"  
Rock wasn't looking and got hit by one of Sara's grenades this sent him flying into the city area.

* * *

"Perry crush you!" Perry said as he grabbed Carter with his currently huge fists.  
"Wanna bet?" Carter asked as his body began to heat up.  
"AAH!" Perry cried as he let go of Carter, "HOT! HOT! HOT!"  
Carter swung his fist and hit Perry into one of the ice walls.  
"You really don't want to mess with me," Carter said.

* * *

"Ragh!" Oprah cried as she swung her numbchucks at Tyler.  
Tyler pulled out his flute, but Oprah hit it out of his hands.  
"Let's not have music spoil this," Oprah said.  
Tyler pressed a button on his sunglasses and seconds later, the micro drones flew up behind him and at Oprah.  
"Oh no," Oprah said.  
Oprah put her feet down, opened her mouth and a banshee-like scream came out, this caused Tyler to get on his knees and cover his ears, and some of the crowd too. The scream also made the drones stop moving.  
"Yah!" Oprah yelled as she put the blades in the numbchucks away and hit Tyler across the face with them.

* * *

"Oprah, a little help!?" Cory asked as he just kept getting hit by Becky.  
"Ugh…" Oprah moaned, "Fine…"  
Oprah ran over to Cory and as she got closer, Becky seemed to disappear more.  
"Cory, watch out!" Oprah said.  
Cory covered his ears and Oprah used her Semblance (the banshee scream), this stopped Becky from moving and made her visible.  
"Yah!" Cory said, hitting Becky across the face with his bat.  
Cory looked at Oprah and saw that Tyler was sneaking up behind her, and Oprah saw that Becky was getting up.  
"Behind you!" Cory and Oprah said, dashing by each other and hitting both Team BCST members out of the arena.  
"Tyler Stone and Becky Barns are eliminated by ring-out!" Port said.  
"Let's go help Perry," Cory said.  
Rock flew through the air and landed near Cory and Oprah.  
"That Sara fellow is tough," Rock said.  
Then Perry was launched through the air too and landed…hard.  
"Perry hurt," Perry said.  
The fallen Team COPR members got up.  
"There's still four of us, and only two of them, this should be a piece of cake," Cory said.  
"Wait, what?" Sara asked.

* * *

Sara looked up at the screen and saw that Tyler and Becky were eliminated.  
"This doesn't look good," Rachael said.

* * *

"Four on two isn't good odds," Samuel said.  
"Oh, just wait," William said, "I can tell that this is going to be the best part."

* * *

Carter and Sara stood ready.  
"Sara, get ready," Carter said.  
Sara nodded and Carter put his sword away.

* * *

"They're just standing there," Rock said.  
"Alright then," Cory said, "Take them out!"  
The Team COPR members activated their physical weapons and charged at Carter and Sara. Carter just stood there as Sara ran behind cover. Moments later, a huge flaming burst came from Carter, this sent Team COPR flying.  
"It seems that Carter Bolt has activated his Semblance!" Oobleck said, "Witness the destructive power of 'Hellfire Blitz'!"  
Carter shot off and began to beat each member of Team COPR down.  
"Oprah Ophelia is eliminated by Aura level! Rock 'n Roll is eliminated by Aura level! Perry Pelegro is eliminated by Aura level!" Oobleck said as Carter defeated each member of Team COPR.

* * *

After the frenzy of attacks, Cory ran up behind Carter, only to be blown away by and Aura explosion from Carter, landing him next to Sara.  
"Good night," Sara said as she hit Cory out of the arena with her mace.  
"Cory Clas is eliminated by ring out and Aura level!" Port said, "Team BCST wins!"

* * *

"I was right!" William said, "Best part!"  
"Wow, I'd hate to fight them," Samuel said.  
"Hopefully we don't have to," Danielle said.  
"That's it for today's matches," Port said, "We'll have more fights tomorrow."  
"Well, what now?" Samuel asked.  
Suddenly, a pair of Beacon security guards approached Team SWRD.  
"Are you Team SWRD?" one of the guards asked.  
"Yes, why?" Samuel asked.  
"You're coming with us," the other guard said.  
"Why? What did we do?" Rachael asked.  
"We're not at liberty to discuss that," the first guard said, "But General Ironwood is."  
"Ironwood?" Samuel asked, "This can't be good."  
The guards escorted Team SWRD out of Amity coliseum, leaving Team CFVY to wonder what was about to happen.

* * *

 **As always, leave a review, creative criticism is alright.**

 **Be back next Thursday for another chapter.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	31. A General Meeting

**Hey, everyone, sorry for this chapter being a day late, but I was distracted and forgot to post. Anyways, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

Team SWRD stood between the two guards as the elevator in the tower went up.

"It's been a while since I was here," Samuel said.  
"I hope the reasons aren't as bad as they were last time," Rachael said.  
The elevator stopped and the door opened. The guards led Team SWRD out of the elevator and into Ozpin's office. The team saw Ozpin at his desk and Glynda Goodwitch, General Ironwood, Max Sentinel and Selkie standing by the desk.  
"Please, come in," Ozpin said, "No need to be worried."  
"Leave us," Ironwood said to the guards.  
"Why did you bring us here?" Samuel asked as the guards left via the elevator.  
"It's on matters relating to you," Glynda said, "Max told us everything."  
"What?" Samuel asked, feeling kind of angry as he turned towards Max, "You said you wouldn't tell anybody."  
"Wait, you aren't listening," Max's sign displayed.  
"You said you'd keep our past a secret!" Samuel said, "I thought I could trust you."  
"This…isn't about your past," Ironwood said, kind of confused, "It's about the Grimm attack a little while back."  
"But why is it so bad that he talks about your past?" Glynda asked.  
"Sure, we're free to talk about ours, but not about yours!" Samuel said, ignoring everybody else.  
"Samuel, you need to calm down," Max's sign displayed.  
"Maybe a hug will help?" Selkie asked as she grabbed Samuel.  
"Let me go." Samuel said sternly.  
Selkie released Samuel and he walked up to Max.  
"Samuel, they're not talking about our past!" Danielle said, getting between Samuel and Max.  
"Then what is it about?!" Samuel asked angrily.  
"You need to calm down!" Danielle said, smacking Samuel across the face.  
Everybody stood motionless; shocked at what they had seen, but Danielle was the one who was the most.  
"I'm…sorry…I don't know what came over me," Danielle said.  
"If you've all calmed down now…" Ozpin said, "You may let Ironwood talk."  
"Thank you, Ozpin," Ironwood said, "The way you four acted during the Grimm attack was most admirable, facing an entire army of Grimm alone, there are only a few others I know who would do that."  
"In other words, you did an excellent job," Glynda said, "But the behavior you're exhibiting now is just repulsive."  
"Repulsive?" Samuel asked.  
"Yes," Glynda said, "But now that you've said some…interesting things about your past, I'd like to know all about it."  
"Instead of asking about our past, ask about Max's," Samuel said angrily.  
"I can explain," Danielle said, "It all started over seven years ago."  
Danielle explained the whole story, the village attack, the time in between then and their arrival at Beacon and all of their previous encounters with the Black Talon.

* * *

"That's quite the story," Ozpin said, "I guess that going through all of that trauma and trouble must've really taken a toll on you all."  
"I guess the Black Talon is focusing all of their efforts on you four," Glynda said, "And they don't care who gets caught in the crossfire."  
"It is unfortunate," Ironwood said.  
"Team SWRD, I have something to tell the four of you…" Ozpin said.  
"Let me guess, we have to leave, that way nobody gets killed trying to protect us?" Samuel asked, assuming the worst.  
Ozpin let out a long sigh.  
"…You should let other people finish talking…" Ozpin said, "As I was saying…the four of you should stay here at Beacon."  
"What?" Samuel asked, "Really?"  
"The Black Talon wouldn't dare to come here," Ozpin said, "Sure they are formidable, but they aren't like the White Fang or the Atleasian fleet. Trust me, you should be safer here than in the outside world."  
"Wow, thanks," Rachael said, "You don't know how much this means to us."  
"You are dismissed," Ozpin said.  
Team SWRD, Max and Selkie got onto the elevator, which had recently returned, and the doors closed after they entered.  
"Well, that an expected," William said.  
Samuel stood in the corner.  
"Samuel, about hitting you," Danielle said, "I don't know what came over me."  
Samuel let out a long and deep sigh.  
"I accept your apology, I kind of deserved it." Samuel said, "And I apologize to Max."  
Max turned towards Samuel and put his sign up.  
"Just don't talk about my past or team again," Max's sign displayed.  
"Why?" Samuel asked, "What's so bad?"  
"I have two things to say in response to that, one when I say drop a topic I mean it and don't try me, the last person who did, it went…poorly for them, and two if you want to let off steam, I'll meet you in the arena after the doubles rounds," Max's sign displayed.  
Moments later, the elevator's doors opened and Max walked away, leaving SWRD and Selkie alone.  
"I'm going to go talk to him," Selkie said.  
Selkie walked off, following after Max.  
"How about we go back to our dorm?" Rachael asked, "It's been a long day."  
"Agreed," William said.  
The team began to walk back to their dorm.  
"Rachael, I want to talk to you," Samuel said.  
"What is it?" Rachael asked.  
"I heard you call William your boyfriend back in the last fight," Samuel said, "I didn't know that you two were that far already."  
"Well," Rachael said, "It just kind of came out."

"Riiiiiiiiight," Samuel said.

* * *

After about twenty-three minutes, Team SWRD was back in their dorm and getting ready to sleep.  
"Hey, guys," William said.  
"What?" Samuel asked.  
"I heard that the next round of the tournament was the doubles round," William said, "And I was wondering who we send onto that round."  
"I hadn't thought of that," Samuel said, "Who do you think we should pick?"  
"Well, I was kind of thinking that Rachael and I could," William said.  
"Actually, I was thinking that maybe Samuel and Danielle could. Are you guys cool with that?" Rachael asked.  
"I guess," Danielle said, "It would be a nice way to forget what happened today."  
"That works," Samuel said, "Then it's settled."  
Team SWRD got into their respective beds and went to sleep as other things began to happen that night.

* * *

"Max, where are you?" Selkie asked, "Max?"  
Selkie turned around and saw Max standing on the landing area, staring at the moon.  
"There you are," Selkie said, "I was looking for you."  
"Hi, Selkie," Max's sign displayed, "I think I know why you're here."  
"I'm sure you do," Selkie said, "Why are you afraid to talk to them about your past?"  
"There are some things that I would rather not talk about," Max's sign displayed  
"Like what?" Selkie asked, "Like how you rigged Team SWRD's huntsman?"  
"So much happened then that I don't like to talk about," Max's sign displayed, "The mission isn't a part of this, and you know it."  
"Yes, I do," Selkie said, "But they deserve to know."  
"Some things, yes; but others need to stay buried," Max's sign displayed.  
Max stared off at the moon.  
"I'll see you tomorrow," Selkie said as she walked off, leaving Max alone.


	32. Electromagnetic Personality

The team battles and a few of the doubles battles for the Vytal Festival tournament were finally over (none of the ones showed in Season 3), and Cinder and her posse were playing dirty.  
"Hmm," Cinder said as she began to see who was remaining in the doubles round.  
"What is it?" Emerald asked.  
"Nothing you need to worry about," Cinder said.  
Cinder began to cycle the teams who were to do battle, until she found a pair she liked; Team SWRD vs Team JNPR.  
"This should help things go smoother," Cinder said.

* * *

The next morning, Team SWRD had no idea what was in store for them.  
"Oh, ho, this is quite interesting," Professor Port said, "Two teams from Vale are going to do battle!"  
"Yes, it seems that Team SWRD is going up against Team JNPR," Oobleck said, "Port, would you mind saying who will be representing each team?"  
"Not at all," Port said, "Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkrie are representing Team JNPR while for Team SWRD, its Samuel North and Danielle Riki."

* * *

The two teams had already gotten to the arena and were preparing for the fight.  
"Pyrrha, right?" Samuel asked.  
"Yes?" Pyrrha asked.  
"I've heard about your fighting skills," Samuel said, "Defeating you will be quite the challenge."  
"Well I'm sure that you have what it takes," Pyrrha said.  
"Enough of this small talk," Nora said, "Let's do this!"  
The area selectors began to cycle through, and when they had finished, the clockwise order was Glacier, Digital Domain, Desert and Plains. As the selected areas moved into place, both teams were preparing for battle.  
"3, 2, 1, begin!" Port said.  
"Danielle, head over to the Domain!" Samuel said.  
"You, against the both of them?" Danielle asked.  
"I've seen them fight, if we can separate them, we should have a chance of winning!" Samuel said.  
"Got it," Danielle replied.  
Danielle flew up and off to the Digital Domain while Samuel made his way over to the Desert, noticing the high ground in that area.  
"A jetpack?" Nora asked, "That's cool, but not as cool as this!"  
Nora jumped into the air and then used her hammer to launch herself over to the Digital Domain.  
"Well then, I guess I'll take care of their leader," Pyrrha said.

* * *

Pyrrha ran over to the Desert as Samuel reached the high ground.  
"Perfect," Samuel said.  
Samuel was preparing to fire, but then something caught his eye.  
"Hey, where are William and Rachael?" Samuel asked, looking at their normal seats.  
But he had no time to think as a few bullets from Pyrrha's rifle flew by his head.  
"Whoa!" Samuel said as he ducked down, "Too close."

* * *

"Whee!" Nora exclaimed as she flew towards the Domain while riding her hammer.  
Nora landed on the highest platform and turned her hammer into a grenade launcher.  
"Where are youuuuuuu?" Nora asked in a sing-song voice.  
Danielle kept quiet, planning her strategy.  
"Let's see, electricity is useless against her, so that leaves me with few options," Danielle thought, "But maybe that might work."  
Nora looked around for a bit, but then Danielle got a lucky hit with Nightfire's club format.  
"Surprise!" Danielle said.  
Nora got right back up and pulled out her grenade launcher, right in front of Danielle.  
"Surprise!" Nora countered.  
"Oh no," Danielle said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Samuel and Pyrrha were in the middle of a firefight.  
"Man, I just can't hit her!" Samuel said, "I think I should switch to close-quarters combat."  
Samuel pulled out a vial of Earth Dust and inserted it into Northstar, thus creating an Earth Dust blade.  
"This should work," Samuel thought.  
Pyrrha noticed that the gunfire wasn't coming anymore.  
"It could be a trap," Pyrrha said to herself.  
Pyrrha got up from behind her cover and saw Samuel coming right down towards her.  
"Hee-yah!" Samuel said he swung his Dust sword at Pyrrha.  
Pyrrha pulled up her shield and broke the Earth blade, but Samuel pressed a button after landing back and another blade appeared.  
Samuel and Pyrrha began to swing their blades at each other. Eventually, they pushed each other back and heard a sudden explosion.  
"What was that?" Samuel asked.  
Samuel suddenly saw Danielle fly through the air, because she got hit by Nora's grenade launcher, and land in the Plains.  
"Danielle!" Samuel cried.  
Samuel ran over to the Plains to assist his friend.  
"Danielle, are you okay?" Samuel asked, hiding himself and Danielle in the tall grass.  
"Ow," Danielle moaned, "That hurt."  
"Well it must have," Samuel said, "You're at half your max Aura Level."  
Danielle saw the big screen that showed Aura Levels.  
"They're still pretty high up," Danielle said, "You find a spot to hide."  
"What about you?" Samuel asked.  
"I'll cover you," Danielle said.  
"No, I'm not leaving you behind," Samuel said, "No matter what."  
 _Ka-boom! Ka-boom!_  
"Oh no," Danielle said as Nora's grenades flew through the air, "They're trying to flush us out."  
"I think I have an idea," Samuel said, "But we need to get to the Glacier."  
"I think that my jetpack should have enough energy left," Danielle said.  
"Let's do it," Samuel said.

* * *

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Nora said as she bombed the Plains.  
"You know, that sounded kind of…well…creepy," Pyrrha said.  
"It's called a scare tactic," Nora said, "They'll come running out there sooner or later."  
Suddenly, out of the explosions came Danielle and Samuel, flying with Danielle's jetpack, and they were making a beeline for the Glacier.  
"Well, looks like it worked," Pyrrha said.  
"They're getting away!" Nora said.  
Pyrrha threw her shield and it hit Danielle's jetpack, disabling it and sending the two SWRD members down to the icy grounds of the Glacier.  
"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha said, apologizing for damaging Danielle's jetpack.  
"Don't worry, it can be fixed!" Danielle said.  
"Come on, we're here!" Samuel said.  
Samuel led Danielle into one of the more secluded areas as Pyrrha and Nora ran to the Glacier.

* * *

"They've cornered themselves," Pyrrha said.

"We've got them now," Nora said.

"3…2…1…go, go, go!" Pyrrha said.  
Pyrrha and Nora ran to the area Samuel and Danielle were hiding, but found nothing.  
"What—where are they?!" Nora asked.  
"Since when did the Glacier have water this deep?" Pyrrha asked, looking at the six inch deep water that she and Nora were standing in.  
"Is it just me, or is it cold in here?" Nora asked.  
"It's not just you!" Pyrrha said, "Look out!"  
Pyrrha jumped up and out of the water, but Nora didn't react quickly enough and the water she was standing in froze; gluing her to that spot.  
"Too cold for you?" Samuel asked, showing that he had an Ice Blade inserted into the ice, "Nice job, Danielle."  
"Thanks," Danielle said, "Behind you!"  
Samuel looked behind him and saw Pyrrha running at him.  
"Wah!" Samuel said as he blocked Pyrrha's sword with his Ice Dust blade, "Could use some help here!"  
"Got it!" Danielle said.  
Danielle and Samuel began to swing at Pyrrha, getting a rare hit or two in now and then. At one point, Pyrrha used her Semblance on Danielle's jetpack, sending Danielle flying.  
"Agh," Danielle groaned, "Should've seen that coming."  
Then Danielle remembered something, all of Pyrrha's weapons were made of metal.  
"Samuel, get back!" Danielle said, "I've got an idea!"  
Samuel blocked an attack and slid back. Then Danielle sent a wave of electricity at Pyrrha, and it hit.  
"Nice thinking!" Samuel said.  
As Pyrrha was getting hit by the electricity, everybody except Samuel forgot about Nora.  
"Better go take care of her," Samuel said.  
Samuel ran to the recently made ice, but saw only a huge crater.  
"Danielle, stop!" Samuel said as he saw that Nora had broken free of the ice.  
"What?" Danielle asked.  
Suddenly, Nora landed between Danielle and Pyrrha, absorbing the electricity and charging up.  
"Uh, oh," Samuel and Danielle said.  
"Split up!" Samuel said.  
Samuel and Danielle ran different directions, but Nora just lifted her grenade launcher up high and fired. The grenades she launched landed near Samuel and Danielle, sending them flying into each other. And it hurt…a lot.  
"Both Samuel North and Danielle Riki are eliminated by Aura Level!" Port said.  
"Wow!" Oobleck said, "It seems that Team JNPR pulled through after all!"  
"But Team SWRD did much better than most anticipated," Port said, "I think they deserve a pat on the back while JNPR deserves to move on!"  
"Ow," Samuel moaned as he came back to his senses, "That really hurt."  
"You weren't the one who got hit point-blank with one of those grenades," Danielle said.  
Pyrrha and Nora walked over to Samuel and Danielle.  
"You two fought well," Pyrrha said as she and Nora helped the Team SWRD members up, "The way you didn't abandon your teammate was quite admirable. Just as honorable as how she was willing to give up herself for your safety."  
"This was fun," Nora said, "We should do this again sometime."  
"Hey, guys!" William suddenly called.  
The fighters looked over to the voice and saw William and Rachael.  
"We missed the fight, didn't we?" Rachael asked.  
"Where were you guys?" Samuel asked.  
"We were getting popcorn," William said, just sounding a tad suspicious.  
"Where is it now?" Samuel asked.  
"Burp! Where it always goes," William said.  
"Why do I even ask?" Samuel asked.  
"Too bad you two lost," Rachael said.  
"Yeah, but as Nora said, it was fun," Samuel said.  
"How about we go find Team CFVY?" William asked, "I heard that their fight is tomorrow."  
"It was nice meeting you," Pyrrha said as she and Nora walked over to Jaune and Ren.  
"Likewise!" Danielle replied.  
As the groups walked off, Samuel was thinking.  
"Sounds reasonable," Samuel thought, "But William sounded a little nervous when I talked to him. No, they couldn't be up to anything suspicious…could they?"


	33. Instigation of Suspicions

**Hey, everyone, today's chapter will be another short one. But I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Oh man…this is so close," Rachael said as her knees shook.

"Where's that Emerald girl gone off to?" Danielle asked.  
Suddenly, Coco was shot out of the forest and landed right next to the unconscious Yatsuhashi.  
"And with an amazing upset, Emerald and Mercury are victorious!" Oobleck said, announcing the fact that Team CFVY was eliminated.  
"Oh man…" William said.  
"Come on, guys, let's go talk to them," Samuel said.  
"Actually, Rachael and I can't," William said.  
"Why?" Samuel asked, "What is it?"  
"I told Carter I was going to hang out with him at the gym sometime," William said.  
"So why is Rachael coming with?" Samuel asked.  
"She wanted to," William said.  
"Okay then," Danielle said, "I guess we'll see you later."  
"See you," William and Rachael said as they left the arena.  
"* _Sigh_ *…Danielle, I think that there's something going on with those two," Samuel said as he and Danielle made their way over to Team CFVY.  
"Well, it could just be that they're dating now and want some time alone," Danielle suggested.  
"That could be the case," Samuel said, "I just didn't think that they were going this fast."  
"Then they must be just right for each other," Danielle said.  
"Yeah," Samuel said, "I guess so."  
Samuel and Danielle went over to Team CFVY and began to talk about their battle.  
"I guess we're both eliminated now," Samuel said.  
"Yeah," Coco said, "But something happened down there."  
"What do you mean?" Danielle asked.  
"When I was in the forest, I saw Yatsuhashi, but then I turned towards the screen and saw that he was eliminated in the Geyser Fields."  
"That **is** weird," Danielle said.  
"A lot of suspicious activity lately," Samuel thought.

* * *

Later that day, Team BCST's doubles battle began.  
"Team BCST of Haven and Team GRAY of Atlas," Port said as the Forest, Beach, Mountain and City areas rose up.  
"I have a feeling that I know who will win already," William said.  
"Well, I've heard that Team GRAY has a reputation for stopping enemies in their tracks," Rachael said.  
"We'll see," Danielle said.

* * *

Back on the arena, the teams were preparing for combat.  
"I'm hoping for a fight where you don't go bonkers for once," Becky said.  
"Well, the chances of that are…" Carter said.  
"Hi, big brother!" a little girl yelled from the out of bounds area.  
"Who's that?" Gabby Fryze (pronounced 'freeze'), the leader of Team GRAY, asked.  
"What's she doing there!?" Team SWRD asked.  
"That's Carter's little sister—Sabrina," Becky said, "Isn't she adorable?"  
"She seems like she's sticking her nose where she shouldn't," Gabby said, "Little snoop."  
Carter's head turned towards Gabby and her teammate, Arthur Verdant.  
"…very…very…low," Carter said manically.  
"Begin!" Oobleck said.  
Carter shot over to Gabby and began to swing at her with his Gauntlets.  
"Oh Carter…" Becky groaned.  
"Is he always like this?" Arthur asked.  
"Almost always," Becky said.  
"Ah, okay," Arthur said.  
"We should probably get back to the fight," Becky said.  
"Yeah, we should," Arthur said.  
Arthur pulled out his two magnums and ran backwards as Becky shot at him with her two pistols.

* * *

Carter swung another fist at Gabby, but Sabrina called out to Carter a moment later.  
"Big brother, you're doing great!" Sabrina said.  
"Hi, Sabrina!" Carter replied before getting hit in the face with Gabby's clawed glove.  
"Honestly, she seems more of a distraction than a sister," Gabby said.  
"You're going to regret saying that," Carter said.  
"No, I won't," Gabby said.  
Before Carter could do anything more, Gabby pulled out her shotgun and fired, coating Carter with a very thick layer of ice.  
"Ice Dust shotgun, it has its perks," Gabby said.  
Gabby ran off to go help Arthur as the ice encasing Carter began to get a very small crack.

* * *

Becky ran at Arthur with the plasma blade coming out of her robotic sleeve. Arthur turned his magnums into Sais and blocked the plasma blade.  
"Arthur!" Gabby said, "Get back!"  
Arthur got the notion and pulled back, leaving Gabby to wonder what was about to happen.  
"Hey, where's Carter?" Becky asked.  
"He won't be helping you now!" Gabby said.

Gabby fired her shotgun at Becky and created a ton of ice.  
"Well, I think this is over," Gabby said, "I don't see what was so hard about these guys."  
Suddenly, Gabby was shot at by an unseen enemy.  
"That's not the only thing you don't see!" Becky said.  
"I thought I froze her!" Gabby said, "Stupid invisibility!"  
"I think you have more problems to worry about than my Semblance," Becky said.  
"What?" Gabby asked.  
A huge explosion came from the area that Gabby froze Carter.  
"Oh shoot," Arthur said, "We're toast."  
Without warning, Carter shot over to the group and punched Gabby really hard, and into Arthur.  
"Told you," Becky said as she turned visible, "Carter, if you would."  
Carter dashed over to Gabby and Arthur, they braced for impact, but Carter's*** was much too strong and it sent them flying out of bounds.

* * *

"Wow!" Port said, "That was quite a hit!"  
"A double-whammy with double the hits in the doubles round battle definitely doubled the speed it took finish this doubles round battle!" Oobleck said.  
"Uh…could you say that again?" Port asked.  
"Sure, I can even say it at double the speed!" Oobleck said.  
"This is too much for my old ears…" Port said.

* * *

Sabrina walked over to the beaten Team GRAY members.  
"Isn't my brother the best?" Sabrina asked.  
"Now, remember to never make fun of my little sister again," Carter said to Gabby.  
"Ugh…" Gabby groaned before fainting.

* * *

"Nice job!" William called from the stands.  
"You were right," Danielle said.  
"That concludes the doubles round!" Oobleck said, "Be sure to be here tomorrow for the singles round!"  
Samuel didn't say anything as the team left the arena.  
"Samuel, what's wrong?" Danielle asked.  
"I don't know…I think that it's the gap between Max and I," Samuel said, "I always saw him as a father figure, but now I don't know what to think of him as."  
"What do you mean?" Danielle asked.  
"Well, he challenged me to a duel a few days ago," Samuel said.  
"I get that, but what did you mean about the whole 'what you think of him as' thing?" Danielle asked.  
"I first saw him as a good friend, and then I saw him as a father figure, now I don't know if he's like a disciplinary parent, a rival, or an enemy," Samuel said.  
"I'm sure that you'll learn soon," Danielle said, "When exactly is the duel?"  
"Tonight," Samuel said, "In the coliseum."

* * *

 **Alright, guys, the next chapter is going to be an important one. It is also one of my personal ffavorites.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	34. Apprentice Against Master

**Hey, everyone, I hope you're ready for this. Here's one of my three favorite chapters of my story. Enjoy.**

* * *

A small airship flew through the night sky to Amity Coliseum, Team SWRD left the transport and it departed.  
"Are you ready?" Danielle asked.  
"As ready as I'll ever be," Samuel said.  
Team SWRD walked into the coliseum, they saw Max in the middle of the battle arena and Team CFVY, Selkie, Carter, Sabrina and Becky in the stands.  
"You guys go join them," Samuel said, "It's time for my battle."  
Rachael and William ran to the stands; Danielle waited a moment, watching Samuel go to face his opponent, and then made her way to the others.  
"Well, Max, here I am," Samuel said.  
Max was sitting cross-legged as he pulled out his sign.  
"I see you decided to come," Max's sign displayed.  
"Yes," Samuel said, "I've accepted your challenge."  
"Alright then, let us begin," Max's sign displayed as he got up.  
"Hello? Hello, is this thing on?" Tyler asked over the speakers.  
"I think it is," Sara said, up in the announcing booth with Tyler.  
"Ahem…welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this one-time only one-on-one match between Max Sentinel and Samuel North!" Tyler announced.  
"Max Sentinel is a fighter who follows the concept of 'actions speak louder than words'!" Sara said.  
"Indeed he is," Tyler said, "But let's not leave Samuel out of the announcements!"  
"I almost forgot, Samuel North is a good all-around fighter whose greatest strength comes from his team. But how will he fare without them?" Sara asked.  
"I don't know, but I'm sure we're about to find out," Tyler said, "Ready the arena  
The main area floated up, isolating itself from the rest of the arena's terrain.  
"How did Max get access to the arena at this hour?" William asked.  
"Max is a teacher, he gets an all-access pass to every part of the school," Velvet said.  
"That makes sense," Rachael said.  
Danielle looked over to the two warriors who were ready to duel.  
"3…2…1…" Tyler said.  
Max and Samuel pulled out their weapons.  
"Begin!" Tyler said.  
Max's and Samuel's weapons clashed almost seconds later. And as this match was beginning, so were plans amongst the Black Talon.

* * *

"So, everything is in readiness?" Vandal asked.  
"Yes," Coros replied, "The attack will go as planned."  
"Excellent," Vandal said, "It was fortunate that we found out about the White Fang's impending attack on Beacon."  
"You're gonna use the White Fang's attack as cover, aren't 'cha, mate?" Graviton asked.  
"Exactly," Vandal said, "Our forces aren't strong enough to invade Beacon on their own, but with the ensuing chaos, we should have no trouble finding, and killing, those brats."  
"So, what happens after that?" Platinum asked.  
"Yeah, are we done, or do we continue in our work?" dreary Luminous asked.  
"We resume our original goal, the extermination of the Faunas," Vandal said, "And with extreme prejudice."  
"What do you suppose those kids are doing?" Coros asked.  
"I think that they're getting along just fine," Vandal said, "Especially with Max Sentinel."  
But Vandal Black was wrong; it was just the opposite at the moment.

* * *

"Yah!" Samuel cried as he swung Northstar's Nightstick form at Max, but missed.  
Max countered Samuel's attack by kicking him away.  
"Wow, you're stronger than I anticipated," Samuel said, "But then again, I should have expected it."  
Max turned his axe into its gun form and fired at Samuel. Samuel did some backwards cartwheels to avoid the gunfire and then turned Northstar into its assault rifle form.  
Samuel fired a few shots at Max, but he turned his weapon back into an axe and blocked all of the bullets.  
"Look, Max, I know that I said that I might have deserved to be punished for my outburst back in Ozpin's office," Samuel said.  
Max turned his weapon into the sign form.  
"Correction, you did deserve it," Max's sign displayed.  
This made Samuel angry, for just a moment, but he closed his eyes and calmed himself; when he opened his eyes, he saw Max right in front of him, ready to attack.  
"Wah!" Samuel cried as he used Northstar to block Max's axe.

* * *

Back at the Black Talon's base, things were secretly heating up.  
"Elite Guard, you are dismissed," Vandal said.  
"Sir," the guard replied.  
"At ease," Vandal said.  
Vandal Black left the room, leaving the Elite Guard alone.  
"Sir my mechanical arm," Coros said with contempt, "I fail once and I suffer."  
Coros moved his robot hand around, remembering why he had this in the first place.  
"It's because of those bratty kids and the punishments he inflicts," Coros said.  
"Mate, those are some pretty harsh words," Graviton said.  
"Yeah," Platinum said, "What are you thinking?"  
"I think that it's time for a change in the chain of command," Coros said.  
"But, Coros, the penalty for treason is death," Luminous said.  
"He's just one man," Coros said, "I'm sure that the four of us are more than enough to defeat him."  
"So, you're planning to betray our leader?" Platinum asked.  
"Yes," Coros said, "Any of your have a problem with that?"  
"Actually, I do," Graviton said.  
"Oh?" Coros asked, turning his robot hand into a gun and putting it up to Graviton's throat, "And what's that?"  
"How much of the spoils do we get?" Graviton asked.  
Coros stood silent for a moment, and then let Graviton go and had a laugh.  
"Alright then, it's settled," Coros said, "We wait till he's at his weakest, and then strike."  
The Elite Guard knew their mission was clear, kill Vandal Black and take command of the Black Talon.

* * *

Meanwhile, Samuel and Max were at the most heated point of their battle.  
Max swung his axe at Samuel, but he moved away at the last second.  
"I can't talk to him without him swinging his weapon at me," Samuel thought, "I need to stop this, and fast."  
Samuel turned Northstar into its rifle form and put a Blast Dust magazine in and fired at Max. Max waited, with his axe to the ground, and suddenly, a small fist-sized portal opened up in front of him and swallowed up the barrage of Blast Dust bullets.  
"Wait, what!?" Samuel asked.  
"Samuel, look out!" Danielle cried.  
Another portal opened up behind Samuel and the Blast Dust bullets hit him in the back, sending him flying.  
"Oh no!" Rachael said.  
"His Aura Level is in the red!" William cried.  
Samuel rolled and tumbled all the way to the other side of the arena, leaving him hanging one-handed over the edge.  
"Samuel!" Danielle cried.  
Max walked over to the edge and stood over Samuel.  
"Max," Samuel said, "I'm sorry, really…I…I just…"  
Max just stared at Samuel.  
"…I'm sorry…I'm sorry for mistreating you," Samuel said, "Getting angry at you like I did, that was just wrong."  
Everybody watched breathlessly as Samuel's grip began to fade.  
"You've treated my friends and I like your own children, you've given us counsel, helped us when we needed it and spent time with us," Samuel said, "And I repaid that by yelling at you, insulting you and cursing you."  
Sara and Tyler were so engrossed in the events conspiring below that they weren't announcing.  
"You didn't deserve it," Samuel said, "But I do deserve this."  
Samuel's grip gave up and he began to fall towards the ground. But he suddenly felt somebody's hand grab him, Max's hand.  
"I forgive you," Max's sign displayed.  
Max helped Samuel up back onto the arena.  
"How about we call this a draw?" Max's sign displayed.  
"What? You beat me, you deserve to win," Samuel said.  
"I could have let you fall," Max's sign displayed, "But instead, I decided to put all of this behind us. You should do the same."  
"You know what?" Samuel asked, "I will."  
Both fighters put their weapons on the ground, to signal that they were both done fighting.  
"We have a draw!" Tyler said.  
"That was quite the battle!" Sara said.  
The arena reset and everybody met up at the coliseum's entrance.  
"Nice job!" Rachael said.  
"What are you talking about?" Samuel asked happily, "I got my butt kicked."  
"And you seem to be happy about it," Danielle asked.  
"I'm just happy that Max and I settled our fight," Samuel said.  
"Yeah, after all of this, he's a pretty cool dude again," William said.  
Selkie and Max were having their own conversation.  
"Glad to see that you two made up," Selkie said.  
"So am I," Max's sign displayed.  
"…So, are you planning on telling them yet?" Selkie asked, "About your past?"  
"I'll tell them when the time is right," Max's sign displayed.  
"And how will you know when it's right?" Selkie asked.  
"I don't, but I'm sure I will when it comes," Max's sign displayed.  
The group boarded a transport and flew back to Beacon, with this fight resolved. But unbeknownst to them, a much bigger one was around the corner.

* * *

"So," Vandal said in his private quarters at the Black Talon's base, "Max Sentinel, the time is coming, the time where we finally meet. And I will crush you. As you have crushed every attempt I have made to gain a foothold in Vale. But soon, it shall all be over."  
Vandal picked up a small glass ornament and grasped it in his hand.  
"And you shall be no more," Vandal said as he crushed the ornament with his bare hand.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this, it was one my favorite chapters to write.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	35. RWBY CHIBI: Cloak and SWRD trailer

On the set of RWBY CHIBI, the happy music played as the blocky title words fell and the four members of Team RWBY took their usual poses.

"RWBY CHIBI!" an off screen announcer said.

"WAIT!" Ruby suddenly yelled.

"What?" Yang asked.

"What is it?" Blake asked.

"I feel like we're forgetting something." Ruby said, "Don't you?"

"Now that you mention it, I do have a nagging feeling like that." Weiss said.

"What could we be forgetting?" Yang asked.

Team RWBY thought for a bit.

"I got it!" Ruby said.

"Got what?" Yang asked.

"Be right back!" Ruby said before launching offset.

"Uh... alright..." Yang said.

As Ruby was running around outside, CHIBI Team SWRD walked on to the set.

"Hey, guys." Samuel said.

"Hi, Samuel," the three Team RWBY members said.

"We're ready for our first day of shooting." Samuel said.

"Oh, so that's what we forgot." Yang said, "We were supposed to lend these guys the studio."

"Why do we have to lend **our** studio to them?" Weiss asked.

"I don't remember, I think it had something to do with this being a fan-series." Blake said.

"Hey!" Nora cried from offset, "Fourth-wall-breaking is my thing!"

"Well, anyways, I think we should get to shooting the first episode." Samuel said.

"Wait, wait, wait." Professor Ozpin said walking onto the set, "I'm the director here, not you."

Moments later, CHIBI Max Sentinel walked onto the set and lifted his sign up, and the screen said "I'm actually the director of this project."

Suddenly, there was an explosion offset and CHIBI Commander Coros ran in and hit Ozpin on the head with his baton, knocking him out.

"And you're actually unconscious!" Coros yelled, he then looked up and saw Max, "Drat! I hit the wrong guy."

Everyone pulled out their weapons and prepared to battle.

"Ah-ha!" Coros said, pulling out a fish, "What? When did that get there?"

Coros threw the fish in disgust and Rachael, Danielle, William, Blake and Max all leapt at it.

"Huh, even the fox likes fish." Coros said, right before Team CFVY walked onto the set and Coco knocked Coros out with her purse weapon.

"Hey, guys," Samuel said.

"Hey, what's up?" Coco asked.

Suddenly, CHIBI Carter ran across the set, grabbed the fish, knocked the fake rose Weiss was on over and ran through the off screen hole Coros made.

"Was that Carter?" Yang asked.

"Definitely Carter." Weiss said, standing up.

Moments later, all the Faunas who were after the fish ran across the set and knocked Samuel, Weiss, Yang and Team CFVY over. Shortly after, Ruby rushed back on the set.

"Well I couldn't find where Zwei went" Ruby said before looking around, "What happened?"

"There is no way we'll be able to survive a whole season of this." Samuel groaned.

 **(RWBY CHIBI: Cloak and SWRD. Coming soon.)**

* * *

 **Remember, if you have ideas for skits, please leave them in the reviews (note: all skits must have at least one Cloak and SWRD character).**

 **P.S. Happy Easter Fools everyone!**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	36. Before the Fall

**A quick note, the chapter for this week and the next will be kind of small and slow. They are build-up to the events at the Fall of Beacon.**

* * *

"Attention, Black Talon!" Vandal Black said, addressing the huge crowd of his followers, "I'm very glad to see that you have all decided to attend this meeting!"  
The crowd turned their gaze towards Vandal and stood at attention.  
"I'm sure all of you know of our upcoming mission," Vandal said, "But for those of you who don't, allow me to explain."  
The few who didn't know of the upcoming mission looked at Vandal with curiosity in their minds.  
"We are going to take advantage of the White Fang's impending attack on Vale and launch our own in the midst of the assault!" Vandal said, "They will never see us coming. And when they do, there will be no one left to tell the tale!"  
"Vandal Black! Vandal Black! Vandal Black!" the crowd cheered, praising their leader.  
"We will go into details in two hours, but for now, prepare yourselves," Vandal said, "You all have a big job ahead of you!"  
The crowd dispersed, to search for what they would need.  
"Commander Coros," Vandal Black said.  
"Yes?" Coros asked.  
"I have decided to join to assault force," Vandal said, "So I will warn you now, you fail me here, and you won't live to see another day. Same goes to the Elite Guard."  
Vandal walked off, to prepare for the imminent battle.  
"See, this is why he shouldn't be in power," Coros said.  
"So, mate, should we be getting ready?" Graviton asked.  
"Yes," Coros said, "Platinum, Luminous."  
"Yes?" the two female members asked.  
"I want you two to get us as much Dust-related objects as possible," Coros said.  
"Yes, sir," Platinum and Luminous replied.  
"Graviton, go get us some backup weaponry," Coros said, "We might need it."  
"I'll git it done," Graviton said.  
"I shall head to my office and acquire something…special," Coros said.  
The Elite Guard members dispersed as Coros made his way to his office.

* * *

"Open door, password: SWRD," Coros said.  
The door to Coros's office opened, he entered the room, the door closed and he made his way to a filing cabinet. Coros pressed a hidden switch on the top of his cabinet; the top opened and lifted up a vial of an odd looking Dust.  
"Ah, my finest creation," Coros said, "He'll never see this coming."  
Coros opened a hidden compartment on his arm and hid the vial in it.  
"Now, to prepare and wait," Coros said.

* * *

The next morning, Team SWRD was finally enjoying a good night of rest.  
"Aah…" Rachael sighed as she got up out of her bed, "That was nice."  
"Morning, sis," Samuel said as he woke up.  
"Should we wake the others up?" Rachael asked.  
"We don't have anything going on today, so we don't really need to," Samuel said, "But I am kind of hungry."  
Samuel and Rachael got ready for the day and headed out to the cafeteria.

* * *

"Mmm…" Samuel said, smelling the food the school had made for breakfast.  
"I know, it smells so good," Rachael said.  
Samuel and Rachael each grabbed a tray of food, which was the same one that they had the first day they were at Beacon (the initiation), found Team CFVY and sat down with them.  
"Morning, guys," Rachael said.  
"Good morning," Velvet said.  
"How're you doing?" Coco asked.  
"A lot better since Max and I finished our fight," Samuel said.  
"Did you guys see the fight last night?" Coco asked.  
"No, we just hung around, since we have nothing better to do right now," Samuel said.  
"Good," Coco said.  
"Why? What was so bad?" Rachael asked.  
"Do you know Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black?" Coco asked.  
"Yeah," Samuel and Rachael replied.  
"Well, they had their fight yesterday and after the match was over, Yang broke Mercury's leg," Coco said.  
"Whoa," Samuel said, "That's terrible."  
"He and his team flew back to Haven for medical treatment," Yatsuhashi said.  
"Wow," Rachael said, "So what happens next?"  
"Well, since Teams RWBY, BCST and Mercury's team have either forfeited or been disqualified..." Coco said.  
"Wait, what do you mean by 'BCST'?" Rachael asked, interrupting Coco.  
"Carter wasn't interested in the fights right now, so he and his team backed out," Velvet said, "So they're sending one of Team GRAY's…healthy members up instead."  
"Ah, so there you are," Selkie's voice said.  
The group looked at the voice and saw Selkie and Max.  
"Hey, guys," Samuel said.  
"Nice to see you all," Selkie said, "Mind if we sit down?"  
"Anyone's welcome," Samuel said.  
"Thank you," Selkie said.  
Selkie and Max sat down, next to Rachael and Samuel.  
"So, where're William and Danielle?" Selkie asked.  
"They're still sleeping," Samuel replied.  
"Actually, we're right here," Danielle said as she and William approached the table.  
"Nice to see you guys," William said as the two teammates sat down.  
"So, Selkie," Samuel said, "We never learned much about you, so is there anything you can tell us about you?"  
"Well, I don't know where to start," Selkie said.  
"How about how you know Max?" Danielle asked.  
"That was a long time ago," Selkie said, "Do you mind, Max?"  
Max pulled out his sign.  
"Select details only," Max's sign displayed.  
"That should be fine," Selkie said.  
"He's still very protective about his past," William whispered.  
"Well, I guess I could start with the team name," Selkie said, "I was part of a team with Max; we were known as Team SHMR."  
"Interesting name. Were you the leader?" Samuel asked.  
"No, Max was," Selkie said.  
"Wow, must be hard to communicate orders with that sign," Rachael said.  
"You'd be surprised," Selkie said.  
"Hey, Selkie," William said.  
"Yes?" Selkie asked.  
"How are you in a fight?" William asked.  
"I'll show you another time," Selkie said, "Maybe after the tournament."  
"That would be fine," Samuel said, "Considering that it should be over tonight."

* * *

Later that day, Samuel didn't know that he would be right, just not in the way he would have wanted to.  
"Alright, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight!" Oobleck said.  
Teams SWRD, CFVY and BCST, along with Max, Selkie and Sabrina, watched as screen began to cycle through the competitors.  
"It looks like our first contender is…Penny Polendina from Atlas!" Port announced as the first fighter was selected, "And her opponent will be…Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"  
"This should be cool," William said.  
"Agh, I swear I'm still sore from our battle with her and Nora," Samuel said.  
"You're not the only one," Danielle said.  
The fight was quite intense, but in one moment, everything began to fall.  
Penny hit Pyrrha's weapons out of her hands and pulled out her own. Pyrrha seemed to suddenly begin to be afraid. As Penny's blades flew towards her, she sent them back at Penny…and this is when everything went very wrong. But things were going much better at the Black Talon's base.

* * *

"Sir, the White Fang is moving towards Vale!" a Black Talon technician said.  
"It begins," Vandal said as he pressed a button on a control console, "Attention, all Black Talon members, the attack it about to begin! I repeat, the attack is about to begin!"  
All of the available Black Talon forces prepared for the assault and was ready to move out in minutes.  
"Give the word, sir," Coros said.  
"Black Talon, the time is now to attack, and follow me to victory!" Vandal said.  
"SIR, YES, SIR!" the Black Talon soldiers replied.  
"Move out!" Vandal said.  
The Black Talon made haste, to Beacon.

* * *

Meanwhile, the disaster that was to begin one of the worst of all was about to take place.  
Pyrrha sent Penny's blades back at her. And when they passed Penny, she was torn apart by the cables that connected the blades to her. The pieces of Penny fell to the ground as everyone watched in shock.  
"Oh my…" Danielle said in surprise.  
Everybody looked at the remains of Penny as negative emotion went through the whole stadium... inviting the Grimm.

* * *

 **So, things are beginning to fall. I hope you're excited for what's coming.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	37. The Vytal Moment

**Alright, everyone, this is chapter where the Fall begins. Just don't expect a lot of action in this chapter.**

* * *

"She was…a robot?" Samuel asked.  
"Whoa," Rachael said.  
Suddenly, a picture of a red screen with a black queen chess piece appeared on every monitor in Vale, Mistral, Vacuo and Atlas.  
"This…is not a tragedy," a young woman's voice said over the speakers, "This…was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians…But are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies…and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace…and yet, what do we have here?"  
"A bunch of robot parts," William said.  
"Not just parts of a robot, but of a poor soul," Samuel said.  
"One nation's attempt at a synthetic army…mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy…yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets." the woman said, continuing her speech, "Or perhaps, this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unexpecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly…I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know that the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral…I can assure you, the situation there is…equally undesirable."  
"So she's from Mistral," Samuel thought.  
"Our kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens are left in the dark! So, I ask you…when the first shots are fired…who do you think you can trust?" the woman asked.  
The pictures disappeared.  
"What was that all about?" Samuel asked.  
"I don't know," Max's sign displayed, "But I think that we're all in big trouble."  
The warning sirens began to blare.  
"Now what's this about!?" Rachael asked.  
"Grimm…" Selkie said, "They're invading the city."  
"Alert. Incoming Grimm attack." the warning system said, "Threat level: 9."  
"That is not good," Danielle said.  
"Why?" Samuel asked, "How bad is that?"  
"Very, very bad," Danielle replied.  
"Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner." the system said.  
Lots of people began to flee from the stadium.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, please…" General Ironwood said from the booth, "there is no need for panic-."  
Abruptly, a huge Nevermore that had landed on the stadium's shield screeched out.  
"Need to panic, really need to panic!" William cried.  
"What the heck is that doing here?!" Danielle asked.  
"I don't know," Samuel said, "Team, let's head outside."  
Samuel and Team SWRD ran up to head out of the arena.  
"No, wait!" Selkie said.  
"Come on!" Max's sign displayed as he, Selkie, BCST and Sabrina followed after SWRD.

* * *

Team SWRD left the arena and saw the incoming army of Grimm, words couldn't describe it's size.  
"Oh…my…" Danielle said in shock.  
"And I thought the last attack was big," William said.  
"There's no way we'll be able to stop that," Rachael said.  
Samuel just watched as the Grimm advanced towards the city.  
"Are those aircraft coming to help?" Rachael asked as she was pointing to some ships heading to Vale's landing area.  
Rachael's question was soon answered as she watched Grimm, with her Scroll's camera, flood out of the transports.  
"Oh no," Rachael said, cupping her hands over her mouth.  
"Let me see," William said, grabbing Rachael's Scroll.  
Then William saw unfamiliar soldiers and a man with red hair walked out of one of the ships.  
"The White Fang," William said.  
"How do you know that?" Danielle asked.  
"I saw a few news reports on them, they match the descriptions," William said.  
Team SWRD heard a loud roar and saw Griffons flying towards the arena.  
"We don't have our weapons!" Rachael said.  
"Pull back!" Samuel said.  
The team ran back into the arena, and stopped to plan.  
"Guys, we need to leave, now!" Rachael said.  
"No, we have to stay and fight!" William said.  
"Did you see the attack!?" Rachael said, "We stand no chance of survival!"  
"Samuel, what do we do?" Danielle asked.  
Max and others arrived as soon as Danielle asked her question.  
"*Sigh*…well…it's a tough choice," Samuel said, "So I'll let you make your own choices, I'm not going to force anything onto you. If you want to leave, you can, I won't hold it against you. But I'm staying, and if anyone else wants to, they can."  
Everyone else was silent for a bit.  
"I don't know about you, but I'm going to stay with our leader," Danielle said, "I'm in."  
"You can count me in," William said.  
"Ah, what the heck," Rachael said, "It's an occupational hazard."  
The team put their hands in the middle.  
"Ready?" the team asked, "Team SWRD!"  
"SWRD," Selkie said.  
"What is it?" Samuel asked.  
"We should get moving," Selkie said, "The other students are moving out."  
"Let's go," Samuel said.  
The team ran down to the battle arena and made their way towards the exit, following the other students. But Danielle saw something that caught her eye.  
"You know, she deserves another chance," Danielle said.  
Danielle picked up a discarded backpack and put Penny's upper torso and compacted weapons in there, she then put the backpack over her jetpack.  
"Just hope it doesn't weigh me down," Danielle thought.  
"Danielle, come on!" Samuel called.  
Danielle followed the rest of the group and met up with them at a transport Max had put aside.  
"Alright, everyone," Max's sign displayed, "We need to keep any more of those ships from landing at Beacon."  
"So we're heading to the landing area?" Samuel asked.  
"No, you're heading to a ridge that overlooks the whole area," Max's sign displayed, "But Selkie, Team BCST and I are needed elsewhere ASAP. So it's up to you four to make sure nothing else lands."  
"Got it," Samuel said.  
"But there's too much going on all over the school, so we'll have to find a safe spot to land." Selkie said.

* * *

The transport landed in a safe area and the group walked out.  
"So," Rachael said, "What happens after all of this, if we survive?"  
"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out when we get there," Danielle said.  
"Max," Samuel said.  
Max turned his gaze towards Samuel.  
"I just wanted to let you know, you're like a father to me…to all of us," Samuel said.  
"And you are like children to me," Max's sign displayed.  
Max and Samuel shook hands.  
"Until we meet again," Samuel said.  
"Until we meet again," Max's sign displayed.  
Team BCST, Max, Selkie and Sabrina ran off to go battle Grimm where they were needed.  
"Okay, SWRD, get your weapons and prepare for battle," Samuel said.  
Each team member pulled out their Scroll and called their lockers. Each member pulled out their weapon and did a cool 'ready' pose.  
"Team SWRD, remember, we're all that stands between our enemies and Beacon," Samuel said, "So nothing lands, understand?"  
Team SWRD nodded.  
"Okay then…" Samuel said, "Time to protect our home."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Black Talon was approaching.  
"Sir, the White Fang has begun the assault," Coros said.  
"Excellent, right on schedule," Vandal said.  
Vandal looked out the window and observed the battle taking place.  
"Hmm, much more Grimm and White Fang than anticipated," Vandal said, "Perhaps we won't need everyone here."  
"What are you saying, mate?" Graviton asked.  
"Just that the White Fang did most of our work for us. Attention, squads five through twelve, return to base immediately." Vandal said, "Now, to find those kids."  
The designated squads turned back to their base.

* * *

 **That was chapter 33, now I hope you're all excited for the next there chapters, because things are going to get crazy.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	38. The Arrival of Evil

**Here's the beginning of the Fall of Beacon's action. I hope you're all ready.**

* * *

"Hyah!" Samuel cried as he swung an Ice Dust Blade through a Beowolf.  
"At this rate, every soldier the White Fang has will be here before we get to the ridge!" Danielle said.  
"It's taking too long to use the scenic route!" William said.  
"But if we go in through the school, we'll be torn apart; I mean you saw how much Grimm went in there!" Rachael said.  
"I don't like the sound of it either," Samuel said, "But we have to do what we have to. Besides, I think I know a way that we can get through safely."  
"Samuel…what are you thinking?" Danielle asked.  
"It's a very risky tactic, but we should be able to get where we need to," Samuel said.  
"At this point, risky is all we have," Rachael said, "What do you need us to do?"  
"William," Samuel said.  
"Yes?" William asked.  
"How are your driving skills?" Samuel asked.  
"Uh…not good," William said.  
"Perfect," Samuel said.  
Samuel quickly explained his plan to his teammates. Minutes later, Samuel's most insane plan ever was in motion.

* * *

"Yeeeeeee-haw!" Rachael exclaimed as she, Samuel and Danielle rode on the Atlas military jeep William recently found on the grounds of Beacon, running over Grimm as they went.  
"HOW DID I GET THIS JOB!?" William asked, as he kept steering the jeep wildly.  
"You are the only one who has driving experience!" Samuel said.  
"Besides, we'll get there in no time now!" Danielle said.  
"REMIND ME NEVER TO LISTEN TO YOUR IDEAS AGAIN!" William exclaimed.  
"Come on, we're fine," Samuel said, "What could go wrong?"  
Suddenly, a nearby Atlesian Paladin seemed to power down, reactivate and turn towards Team SWRD.  
"I don't like the way he's looking at us!" Rachael said.  
The Paladin ran right at the jeep.  
"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT, SAMUEL!?" William asked.  
The Paladin smashed the jeep and sent Team SWRD flying through some windows and into the school's cafeteria.  
"Aah! Ooh! Omph!" Samuel grunted as he rolled on the ground, "Okay, I take it back, things did go wrong."  
"They just got worse," Danielle said, pointing past Samuel.  
Samuel turned to the way Danielle was pointing and saw a red-haired, black-cloaked male bull Faunas wearing a mask standing before him.  
"Adam Taurus," William said in shock.  
"How do you know that?" Samuel asked.  
"He was in a few news reports I watched," William said.  
Team SWRD got up and prepared their weapons for combat. But Adam just seemed to ignore them and walked away.  
"Wait, what was that all about?" Danielle asked.  
"I don't know, but if he's not fighting us, that's a good thing," William said.  
"We should get back to our mission," Rachael said.  
"Yes," Samuel said, "Team SWRD, move out!"  
Team SWRD ran off, away from Adam, and to their objective.

* * *

"Sir, we've located those kids," a Black Talon pilot said.  
"Excellent," Vandal said, "Take us there."

* * *

Team SWRD had finally reached the ridge.  
"About time," William said.  
"Alright, Team SWRD, ready your weapons," Samuel said, "Make sure nothing lands at Beacon."  
The team shot at, and took out, a few White Fang ships with their ranged weapons. But what happened next was earth-shattering...literally.  
As soon as the Team had taken out a fifth White Fang transport, the ground began to shake.  
"What now?!" William exclaimed.  
Team SWRD watched as a nearby mountain broke apart to reveal…the biggest Dragon Grimm the world had ever seen…it was as big as the mountain itself.  
"No…" Danielle said as the beast flew overhead and dropped a lot of black goop everywhere, which formed into Grimm.  
"What the…" William said.  
"Well, SWRD, looks like we have our work cut out for us," Samuel said as the Grimm drew closer.  
Samuel and William cut through a huge Ursa Grimm while Rachael made a mad dash through some Beowolves. Danielle pulled out her flamethrower.  
"No, Danielle, you need to stop those ships!" Samuel said as he held back a Beowolf's paw, "Aim for vital spots!"  
"Okay then," Danielle said as she turned her flamethrower back into a sniper rifle.  
Danielle looked down the rifle's scope and saw yet another threat.  
"Oh no…" Danielle said, "This is just getting worse and worse."  
"Why!?" Samuel asked as he cut down a small Ursa, "What is it?"  
"The Black Talon is here, and they're coming this way fast," Danielle said.  
"Take them down!" Samuel said, "We need to keep them from landing!"  
Danielle shot at the very large transport ship while the rest of the team attacked the nearby Grimm.

* * *

"Sir!" the ship's pilot said, "We're under fire!"  
"Alright then," Vandal said, "Shoot back."  
The guns on the ship aimed towards Danielle.

* * *

"Danielle, look out!" Samuel cried as he tackled her, moving her out of the guns' blasts.  
"We're going to need help!" Danielle said.  
"Got it…I just hope that they're available," Samuel said as he pulled out his Scroll.

* * *

Back behind Beacon, Max and the others were dealing with a bunch of Grimm.  
"Max, behind you!" Selkie said.  
Max turned around and beheaded a Beowolf.  
"Thanks," Max's sign displayed.  
Selkie was about to say "You're welcome" but her Scroll's ringtone suddenly went off. She could see that the message was from Samuel.  
"What is it?" Selkie asked, answering the call.  
"We need your help!" Samuel said over the Scroll, "The Black Talon's here! There's a large transport coming our way!"  
"We're already on our way!" Selkie said.  
"Wait…already? What do you mean by already?" Samuel asked.  
"Max saw the transport coming in!" Selkie said.  
"Okay, but make it quick! We don't know…!" Samuel said just before the connection died.  
"Samuel!?" Selkie asked.  
"We need to get moving," Max's sign displayed.  
Selkie turned towards Team BCST.  
"We need to go help the others," Selkie said, "Can you guys catch up later?"  
"No problem," Carter replied.  
"Good," Selkie said, "Let's go."  
Selkie and Max ran to go help Team SWRD, who was in big trouble.

* * *

"It's no good!" Rachael said, "We can't dent it!"  
The transport reached the ridge, turned around and opened up its side door, revealing a bunch of soldiers and robots.  
"There is no way this can get worse," Samuel said.  
Then the team saw Coros, Platinum, Graviton and Luminous on top of the transport.  
"You were saying?" William asked.  
"Hello, Team SWRD," Coros said, "In a tight space?"  
"No, this is nothing," Samuel said.  
"Oh, okay then, allow me to make it tighter," Coros said.  
"Coros!" a voice, somewhat-familiar to Team SWRD, yelled.  
The team saw Vandal Black walk on top of the transport.  
"Y…you…you were at the attack," Samuel said, "W-when our home was destroyed."  
"Yes…I was," Vandal said, "I suppose I never got to formally introduce myself."  
"There's nothing formal about you," Samuel said.  
"How rude." Vandal said, "My name is Vandal Black, but you probably know me as the leader of the Black Talon."  
"So you're the man pulling the strings," Samuel said.  
"Yes…I am," Vandal said.  
"So the Elite Guard were just your puppets!" Samuel said.  
"Grr…all forces, attack!" Coros cried.  
All of the soldiers and robots charged at Team SWRD.  
"Well…here we go!" Samuel said.  
Team SWRD readied their weapons once more.  
"Charge!" Samuel said.  
Team SWRD ran at the opposing forces.  
"Wait!" Vandal said.  
Everybody stopped in their tracks.  
"Vandal, we can easily crush them with our forces," Coros said.  
"Now where's the honor in that?" Vandal asked, "All forces, back to the transport. The rest of you, take care of them."  
The soldiers and robots walked back into the transport ship. Then Coros, Platinum, Graviton and Luminous dropped down, near SWRD.  
"Besides," Vandal said, "I'd rather finish what we started all those years ago with honor."  
"What are you talking about?" Rachael asked, "We're outnumbered five to four!"  
"Would you rather have fought being outnumbered five to one?" Vandal asked, "Besides, I'm not fighting…yet."  
Team SWRD said nothing and prepared for their biggest battle yet.  
"Alright then…" Vandal said, "Attack!"  
Both groups ran at each other, neither would hold back in this battle.

* * *

 **The next chapter coming up is going to be one crazy fight. I hope you're looking forward to it.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	39. Blackest Battle

**It's time to begin the big battle of the season 3, this is going to be crazy.**

* * *

"I can't believe that he's here," Selkie said as she and Max raced to the ridge.  
Max didn't respond in any way.  
"I just hope that we won't be too late," Selkie said.  
Max and Selkie continued their run to the ridge as Team SWRD and their enemies ran at each other.

* * *

"I can't believe that it's all come to this one moment," Samuel thought, "Today it's do or die."  
Everybody's weapons clashed and they were all blown back.  
"You've grown much more than I anticipated," Vandal said from on top the transport, "I expected you all to go down in one hit."  
"Well you'll find that we've had quite a teacher," Samuel said.  
"Enough of this useless talk," William said, "Let's do this!"  
William ran at the group, but Graviton used his Semblance to send him flying back.  
"Wow," William said as he got back up, "You four have improved."  
"We've been training vigorously," Coros said, "Just for this day."  
"SWRD," Samuel said, "We need a plan, and quick."  
"Oh, no, we're not giving you a moment's peace!" Platinum said as she pulled out her swords.  
"Bring them down!" dreary Luminous said as she pulled out her laser gun.  
Platinum and Graviton ran at Team SWRD while Luminous and Coros offered them cover fire.  
"SWRD, pull back!" Samuel said, "We need more cover!"  
Team SWRD tried to move back, but Coros shot a bunch of Fire Dust near them, blocking their escape.  
"You're not going anywhere," Coros said.  
Luminous shot at Rachael, who would block all of the blasts with her knives. Platinum swung her swords at Danielle, but she would just barely be able to dodge them. Graviton tried to hit William with his hammer, but William would push it back with his sword. Coros turned his gun arm into a large blade which clashed with one of Samuel's Ice Dust blades.  
"Well, it seems that we're even!" Samuel said.  
"Or so you think!" Coros said.  
Coros swept Samuel's legs and then punched him right next to the fire.  
"Samuel!" Danielle cried.  
Danielle looked away for one moment and Platinum kicked her over by Samuel. Graviton used his abilities to lift William into the air and then hit him down hard with his sledgehammer. Luminous switched to her light sword and hit Rachael over to the others.  
"Easy," Coros said, "You are pathetic excuses for Huntsmen. Good at nothing."  
"But do you want to know what we do best?" Samuel asked.  
Coros had a confused expression on his face.  
"What?" Coros asked, aiming his gun arm at Samuel.  
"Improvise," Samuel said.  
Danielle pulled out Nightfire's Flamethrower form and sent forth a wall of fire that pushed the Elite Guard back.  
"Polar Bear!" Samuel said.  
Samuel pointed Northstar's blade slot at the ground, William stabbed Quake into the earth and then Samuel ignited the Ice Dust blade; this caused a huge pile of ice spikes to come out of the ground and hit the Elite Guard away.  
"Fast Paw Special!" Samuel said.  
William held onto Quake, which was still in the ground, and grabbed Rachael's hand. The two of them ran in fast circles, and then William let go of Rachael who then slammed into Platinum.  
"Jet Cat!" Samuel said.  
Danielle used her jetpack to grab Rachael in midair, flew some distance back and then, using their combined speed, ran Luminous down.  
"Meteor Impact!" Samuel said.  
Danielle let go of Rachael, flew over to, and lifted up, William. Danielle dived down, towards Graviton, and let go of William; this let him land right on top of and beat Graviton.  
"Alright, everyone!" Samuel said, "Let's finish this!"  
Team SWRD charged at Coros and swung their weapons. But in the blink of an eye, Vandal was between Coros and SWRD. SWRD was already swinging their weapons when an odd aura encased Vandal and the weapons merely bounced off.  
"I should have known that you were too weak," Vandal said, "When this is all over, you and the Elite Guard shall be terminated."  
Coros clenched his fist as Vandal turned towards Team SWRD.  
"No…not yet," Coros thought, "There will be a better time."  
"Team SWRD," Vandal said, "Honestly, I expected my Elite Guard to do better than that."  
"What do you want?!" Samuel asked, "Revenge? The satisfaction of completing a useless task?!"  
"More or less," Vandal said, "I never intended to waste my time on you four. But Coros searched for you, against my wishes."  
Coros looked at Vandal with a shocked expression.  
"Yes…I knew," Vandal said, "I didn't you kill then because that information proved useful…unlike you."  
Coros just got angrier, but held it in.  
"And now…we shall finish the task started seven years ago," Vandal said.  
"Over my dead body," Samuel said.  
"Fine…have it your way," Vandal said.  
Vandal pulled out his two swords and readied for battle.  
"That's it," Coros thought, "Tire yourself fighting them, and then I'll make my move."  
Vandal dashed off at Team SWRD. The team tried to prepare, but Vandal activated the bladed-whip form of his weapons and swept Team SWRD off of their feet. He then spun around again, with the whips higher up, and hit the team, sending them flying ten feet away.  
"Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it!" William said just before charging at Vandal.  
Vandal grabbed William's legs with his whips and pulled him down, he then turned the whips back into swords and prepared to stab William.  
"Just like your father," Vandal said, "You die the same way."  
Suddenly, Vandal felt something hit him in the back, it was Rachael's pistols.  
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Rachael yelled.  
"Fine, then I suppose I could kill you first," Vandal said, "You're always the one who wants to go first."  
Vandal combined his two swords by their hilts to create a long doubled-bladed sword.  
Rachael fired her guns at Vandal, but he just blocked every bullet with his double-bladed sword as he approached Rachael. When he reached her, she tried to cut him with her knives, but Vandal grabbed her arms and then proceeded to kick her clear through three trees.  
"RACHAEL!" Danielle cried.  
Danielle pulled out Nightfire's Flamethrower form and engulfed Vandal in a bunch of fire for at least fifteen seconds. But when the flames died, Vandal was standing there, unscathed and unsinged. Vandal turned his double-bladed sword into a pair of pistols and shot at Danielle, slowly depleting her Aura and knocking her down.  
"No…" Samuel moaned as he got up, "It can't end like this."  
Samuel looked around, at all of his defeated friends and felt something inside of him.  
"STOP RIGHT NOW!" Samuel cried as he ran at Vandal as a yellow Aura passed over his body.  
But Samuel couldn't do anything as Vandal used his two swords to slash at Samuel and sent him back, the yellow Aura disappeared moments later.  
"Easy…" Vandal said, "I don't see why the Elite Guard has such trouble defeating you."  
Vandal looked back at Coros.  
"Have the men take these…children onto the ship," Vandal said, "We're taking them back to headquarters."  
"Why?" Coros asked.  
"I wish to have them executed in front of the entire Black Talon, before your Elite Guard is also killed," Vandal said, "After all, you've all caused us enough grief."  
"Oh, my head," Graviton said, "Mates, you okay?"  
"I'll live," Platinum moaned.  
"I've been better," dreary Luminous said.  
"You all get on the ship," Vandal said, "We're going back to base."  
"Okay then," Graviton replied, "Let's go."  
The Elite Guard (except for Coros) boarded the transport.  
"Something wrong, Coros?" Vandal asked.  
"No, sir," Coros replied, "I'll go now."  
Coros went back to the ship as some Black Talon robots came and carried the bloodied, bruised and battered Team SWRD members to their demise.  
"That went better than expected," Vandal said.  
"VANDAL!" a female voice, familiar to SWRD, cried.  
"I know that voice," Vandal said.  
Vandal looked around and saw Max and Selkie.  
"You two," Vandal said, "You're too late, and you've lost."  
"Vandal, let them go," Max's sign displayed.  
"You know, Max," Vandal said, "That's your problem, you always thought that you were better than me."  
The transport began the lift-off procedure.  
"But we'll have to settle this score later," Vandal said.  
Vandal ran back to the transport and the doors shut after he got inside. The ship took off and started to fly away.  
"No!" Selkie cried.  
Selkie pulled out a gun with a prism inside and Max grabbed his gun, they fired at the ship for a bit, but the autoguns eventually chased them behind some trees.  
"Max, what now?" Selkie asked.

* * *

The transport flew over the forest and away from Beacon, taking Team SWRD, and the Elite Guard, to their imminent demise.

* * *

 **Well, they're really in a bind now. The finale, the next chapter, is going to be huge. I hope you're prepared.**

 **BTW, the first hints at Samuel's Semblance were in this chapter.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	40. Fallen Past (Season 3 finale)

**This. Is. It. The season 3 finale and the biggest chapter so far, be ready for more reading than usual and all sorts of crazy stuff.**

* * *

Everything was black for Samuel, but he started hearing someone call his name.  
"Samuel?" a familiar voice asked, "Samuel?"  
Samuel opened his eyes, but his vision was very blurry, he could only make out rough shapes.  
"Who's there?" Samuel asked.  
"Wake up," the voice said.  
Samuel got up off of the ground. It took a moment for his vision to return to normal, but he could see Danielle, Rachael and William.  
"Where are we?" Samuel asked, "What happened?"  
"We've been captured is what happened," Danielle said, "And we're onboard the Black Talon's transport ship."  
"What!?" Samuel asked.  
Samuel looked around again, and noticed that they were in a good-sized metal jail cell, complete with glass windows instead of bars.  
"Let me out!" William yelled as he banged on the glass, "I know my rights!"  
"We're trapped," Rachael said, "The glass is bulletproof, and there's a containment field that prevents electricity from passing through the windows."  
"I can't believe we were beaten by Vandal Black so easily," Samuel said.  
"He's on a whole other level," Danielle said.  
"We need a way out," Samuel said, "Wait…where are our weapons?"  
"They took them," William said, "I bet they're planning to melt them down."  
"Great…" Samuel said, "We're going to need a miracle."

* * *

Meanwhile, Coros was looking for the Elite Guard.  
"There you guys are," Coros said as soon as he found his teammates.  
"What's up, mate?" Graviton asked.  
"I have some bad news," Coros said, "Vandal is going to execute us when we get back to headquarters."  
"When did you hear that?" Platinum asked.  
"When Vandal defeated Team SWRD," Coros said, "We need to make our move now."  
"Wait, the boss defeated them by himself?" Platinum asked.  
"Yes. Why?" Coros asked.  
"If he's that strong, we won't stand a chance," dreary Luminous said, "It's hopeless."  
"Well I'm going to make sure that Vandal doesn't live to see the light of day," Coros said, "And you three are going to help."  
"No," Graviton replied.  
"What?" Coros asked.  
"It's a suicide mission," Graviton said, "We can't stand behind you."  
"Sorry, Coros," Luminous said, "But we're leaving."  
"Fine, but don't come to me when you need help," Coros said.  
"We won't," Platinum said, "because you won't live long enough to be any help."  
The Elite Guard walked off.  
"Cowards." Coros said, "I'll take care of this myself."  
Coros made his way to where Vandal Black was while the Elite Guard planned their escape.  
"We know that they won't just let us leave the ship," Platinum said, "So we need a quiet way off."  
"And a distraction of some kind," Graviton said.  
"How are we going to get either of those?" Luminous asked.  
"Guys, I've got an idea," Platinum said, "Listen closely."

* * *

In the ship's cockpit, Vandal was checking the flight's progress.  
"We're just approaching Anima now," a Black Talon pilot said.  
"Excellent," Vandal said, "And it's only been a few hours since our battle at Beacon."  
"We should be at our homebase within the next couple of hours," the pilot said.  
"Keep me posted," Vandal said.  
Vandal Black walked out of the cockpit and was approached by Coros.  
"Greetings, Coros," Vandal said.  
"Sir," Coros said, giving Vandal a salute.  
Vandal walked by Coros.  
"At ease," Vandal said.  
Coros put his arm down, and then began his betrayal. He aimed his gun arm at Vandal, inserted his special 'surprise' from earlier and fired, the blast engulfed Vandal in a huge burst of energy.  
"Now I'm at ease," Coros said as smoke took the place of the energy.  
But Vandal walked out of the smoke, unscathed.  
"What!?" Coros asked, "How!?"  
"You think I wouldn't have seen this coming?" Vandal said, "By the way, I knew there were at least two other better opportunities that you could have killed me. You might have done it if you weren't such a failure."  
"Yah!" Coros cried as he charged at Vandal.  
Vandal did nothing as Coros ran at him.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Elite Guard's plan to escape was beginning.  
"This is hopeless…" Rachael said, "In a few hours, we're probably going to be executed."  
"Don't worry, there's always hope," a female voice, painfully familiar to Team SWRD, said.  
Team SWRD looked out of their cell's window and saw the Elite Guard.  
"What do you know?" William said, "All you do is take what little hope there is."  
"Today we're feeling a little more gracious," Platinum said.  
"What game are you playing?" Danielle asked.  
"Graviton," Platinum said.  
Graviton pressed a button on Team SWRD's cell and the door opened.  
"Your weapons are in the armory," Platinum said, "Just down the hall."  
"Why should we trust you?" Samuel asked.  
"You shouldn't, after all, we're on opposite sides," Luminous said.  
"All we need is a distraction," Platinum said, "And we figure that you should be enough."  
"I don't know whether to say 'thanks' or to try to beat you," William said.  
"Well, considering that we still have weapons, you wouldn't last very long," Platinum said as she pointed her sword at William.  
The two groups stared at each other for a bit.  
"You'd better get going," Platinum said, "We cleared the way for you."  
The Elite Guard walked off.  
"This doesn't change anything," Platinum said before the Guard was gone.  
Team SWRD was shocked at the Elite Guard's sudden aid.  
"Come on, team," Samuel said, "We need to find our weapons and get out of here."  
Team SWRD ran to find the armory. About twenty seconds later, they had gotten into there and found their weapons.  
"Argh!" William groaned, "They took all of our ammo."  
"Then we'll have to make do," Samuel said, "Start grabbing whatever you can carry."  
The group took as much ammo and Dust-related items as they could carry and decided to leave the armory, but they were spotted by some guards who were down the hall.  
"The prisoners are out!" a guard said, "Sound the alarm!"  
"That didn't take long!" Rachael said, as she and SWRD hid behind some corners in order to dodge gunfire.

* * *

Back near the cockpit, a heated battle was reaching its climax.  
"DIE!" Coros cried.  
Coros swung at Vandal, who just moved to the side.  
"What?" Coros asked.  
The next thing Coros knew was that both of Vandal's blades had pierced his mechanical lower torso.  
"Like I said…" Vandal said.  
Vandal spread his blades apart, splitting the mechanics of Coros's body in half, and cutting off the flow of power.  
"A failure," Vandal finished.  
Vandal stabbed Coros through, killing him.  
"Discard the body," Vandal said to some nearby soldiers.  
Suddenly, an alarm started to blare.  
"What's going on?" Vandal asked.  
"Team SWRD has escaped their cell!" a Black Talon soldier said.  
"Send all available units to the cell block!" Vandal said, "Those kids are not to escape this ship alive!"

* * *

Near the ship's cargo hold, the Elite Guard was ready to escape.  
"Everybody, to the cell block!" some Black Talon soldiers said, as they passed by the Elite Guard, who was hiding behind some crates.  
"…They're gone," Luminous said as the footsteps faded.  
"Now to take our leave," Platinum said.  
Platinum pressed a red button and the hangar bay opened up.  
"Come on!" Platinum said.  
The Elite Guard ran out of their new exit and skydived down to the forest under the ship, landing safely, as Team SWRD was being pinned down by gunfire.

* * *

"Okay, SWRD, it's now or never!" Samuel said.  
The group came out from behind their cover and charged at the enemy with weapons firing.  
"Pull back!" one of the guards yelled.  
The guards ran away.  
"They won't be gone long," Danielle said, "They'll come back with reinforcements."  
"What do we do now?" Rachael asked.  
"We can't just leave," Samuel said, "They'll come after us."  
"Then what do we do?" William asked.  
"We take this bird down," Samuel said.  
"How are we going to do that?" Rachael asked.  
"We have our answer right here," Samuel said, pointing to everything the armory, "All we need to do is light it up."  
"Way ahead of you," William said as he grabbed a bomb and placed it next to a bunch of other explosives.  
"Let me," Danielle said.  
Danielle pressed the buttons on the bomb, prepping it.  
"When I press this button," Danielle said, holding a small, one button detonator, "this whole room will explode and should send a chain reaction through the ship's systems, causing the whole thing to fall."  
"Now we need to get out of here," Samuel said.  
The group walked out of the armory and snuck their way past the searching guards for a bit.

* * *

A bit later, Team SWRD had reached the hangar bay.  
"Ready?" Samuel asked.  
The rest of the team nodded.  
Samuel sighed and pressed a button, opening the door to the open hangar bay. This revealed Vandal Black standing ready.  
"Uh oh," Samuel said.  
"Shut the door!" William said, "Shut the door!"  
But the door wouldn't close, and to make matters worse, all of the other doors throughout the ship closed, sealing Team SWRD in with Vandal Black.  
"Hello," Vandal said, "trying to escape?"  
"Get out of our way," Samuel said.  
"No," Vandal said.  
Vandal pressed a button on the wall and the hangar bay door began to slowly close.  
"Now, you're either going to come quietly, or there's going to be some blood spilled on these floors," Vandal said.  
Team SWRD remained quiet.  
"Well…" Samuel said grimly, "I guess we aren't leaving after all."  
"Wait, we can't surrender," Rachael said.  
"I know," Samuel replied, "we don't have a choice."  
"You can't be serious," William said.  
"Danielle, you know what to do," Samuel said.  
Danielle got the notion and clicked the button for the detonator. This blew the armory into millions of pieces. In addition to the explosion creating a huge hole in the side of the ship, the aircraft began to lose altitude and shake violently for a bit.  
"What did you do!?" Vandal asked.  
"One last desperate action," Samuel said.  
"Well it will surely be your last!" Vandal cried.  
Vandal ran at SWRD, but felt a bullet hit him on the back, making him stop.  
"What was that?" Samuel asked.  
Team SWRD looked behind Vandal and saw Max and Selkie.  
"Max!" the team said, "Selkie!"  
"So, you made it after all," Vandal said.  
"You really should close doors," Selkie said, "Otherwise you could have left us out."  
"I suppose you've come to save Team SWRD," Vandal said.  
"I've come to settle our fight," Max's sign displayed.  
"I see," Vandal said, "Well then, I…"  
Max ran at Vandal and he swung his axe; but Vandal blocked it and pushed him back.  
"SWRD," Max's sign displayed.  
"Yes?" Samuel asked.  
"Find a ship." Max's sign displayed, "Get out of here."  
"But what about you?" Samuel asked.  
Max dodged a series of slashes from Vandal and made another message.  
"I'll be fine." Max's sign displayed, "Now go!"  
"But…" Samuel said.  
"No 'buts', go!" Max's sign displayed.  
"Come on, Samuel!" William said, "We have to!"  
William dragged Samuel off, following Rachael and Danielle as they went by Selkie.  
"Don't worry," Max's sign displayed in Selkie's direction, "We'll see each other again."  
Selkie nodded, as a few tears formed under her visor, she put her hand over her forehead to wipe her closed eyes and then followed Team SWRD to a VTOL transport ship.  
"Can you get this working?" Rachael asked.  
"Just give me a second," Danielle said.  
Danielle pressed some buttons; the ship powered up and prepared to fly out of the hangar.  
"Let's go," Danielle said.  
"No…" Samuel said.  
"What!?" the others asked.  
"I'm not leaving without Max!" Samuel said.  
Samuel jumped out of the transport ship as it flew out of the hangar.  
"SAMUEL!" the others cried.

* * *

Samuel ran to help Max, but as he did so, the whole hangar began to fall apart and fire spread everywhere.  
"Hya!" Vandal said as he kicked Max away, who landed next to Samuel.  
"Samuel, what are you doing here?!" Max's sign displayed.  
"I can't leave you here to die!" Samuel said.  
"Enough of this!" Vandal cried, "I'll kill you both!"  
Vandal ran at Max and Samuel. Max and Samuel prepared their physical weapons and, as Vandal went right between them, they hit him with a few slashes. The landed hits cracked Vandal's mask and his tore his cloak and gloves.  
"Wow, we actually landed a hit," Samuel said.  
"That was a mistake," Vandal said.  
Samuel and Max turned towards Vandal who, in turn, looked back at them. Vandal's mask fell apart and his cloak and gloves ripped open to reveal quite the shocker. Tall ears came off of the top of Vandal's head, huge scaled wings came out of his back, claws protruded from the gloves, all of these features resembled those of a bat.  
"You…you…you're…a…Faunas," Samuel said in shock.  
"Yes…I am," Vandal said.  
The others in the airship looked down at the scene in shock.  
"But…" Samuel said, "Why do you slaughter your own kind!?"  
"The Faunas aren't my kind, they made fun of me, they tore me down, they neglected me," Vandal said, "They deserve to burn."  
"That's insane!" Samuel said, "You can't judge somebody by what they are!"  
"Well, judging by who you are, I'd say that you're no better than any other Faunas," Vandal said, "Raised in family of Faunas, living with Faunas friends, and having a Faunas mentor…disgusting."  
"So what if I'm no better than a Faunas?" Samuel asked, "I'd rather be with them than with a racist dictator like you!"  
"You don't know what you're saying," Vandal said.  
"No, I do know what I'm saying," Samuel said, "You just don't understand."  
"Enough…I'll end this here," Vandal said.  
Vandal's huge bat wings flapped and lifted him up into the air and then he let out an extremely loud and ear-piercing screech.  
"ARGH!" Samuel screamed.  
Danielle lost control of the transport ship and it came crashing down next to Samuel, with no damage to the transport itself.  
"Samuel, you need to go," Max's sign displayed.  
"Wait?" Samuel asked, "What?"  
Max kicked Samuel into the transport ship; he then shot the button that shuts the transport's doors, closing them in. He then proceeded to aim his gun at Vandal and fire, stopping the noise.  
"Go!" Max's sign displayed to Danielle, "Now!"  
Danielle looked at Max for a bit and nodded, she then flew the transport out of the hangar and away from the large airship.  
"You're sacrificing yourselves for them?" Vandal asked, "Quite honorable."  
Max prepared his axe.  
"But your sacrifice shall be in vain," Vandal said just before trying to fly off.  
Max jumped off of some nearby crates and hit Vandal back down to ground level.  
"If I'm going down, you're coming with me," Max's sign displayed.  
"As you wish," Vandal said.  
Max and Vandal engaged in an intense battle as the heat grew stronger and the ship grew weaker.  
Max swung his axe at Vandal; Vandal used his double-bladed sword to counter it. Vandal knocked Max down, and then attempted to stab his sword through him, but Max jumped back and fired his gun.  
Vandal skillfully blocked the bullets and activated his own guns. He and Max ran around the hangar, shooting, taking and dodging every bullet that came their way.  
Vandal had enough of the gunplay and activated the whips. He ran at Max with the whips swinging, but Max used his axe to jump off of the ground and avoid the first attack. Vandal swung his whips upwards; they grabbed Max and slammed him into the ground. Vandal retracted the whips back into two swords.  
Max got up and saw that the hangar's roof was beginning to crumble. He dodged some of falling debris, but this left him open to an attack by Vandal, which sent him flying at a wall and his axe in the opposite direction.  
"A pity," Vandal said, "You're such a great fighter, yet here you are, meeting your better."  
Max created a small fist sized portal behind his back and reached in.  
"I suppose everyone has to meet their end at some time," Vandal said.  
Max pulled his axe, in its more compact gun form, out of the portal, transformed it and hit Vandal across the face.  
"Not today," Max's sign displayed.  
Vandal swung at Max in a fit of rage and hit his axe out of his hands, through the open hangar door and down into the forest.  
"Or so you say," Vandal said.  
Max reeled back, looking for an exit. He found one when Vandal tried to stab him through. Max jumped up, landed on Vandal's sword, which was stuck in the wall, and landed behind him. He then kicked Vandal's arm, the one that wasn't holding the stuck sword, and he dropped the weapon. Max picked up the sword and got a little distance.  
"THIS ENDS NOW!" Vandal said.  
Max and Vandal readied the swords as the ship began to crumble completely. The two of them ran at each other. They swung their swords one more time, before the ship filled with a burst of fire.

* * *

Outside of the large airship, the others in the transport were flying away.  
"I'm telling you!" Samuel said, "We need to go back for Max!"  
"Guys…" Danielle said, as she stopped the transport and turned it towards the large airship, "You'd better see this."  
Everybody moved into the cockpit to see the airship explode in a violent burst of fire and metal.  
"No…" Selkie said.  
Everybody lowered their heads at what they knew: Max Sentinel had sacrificed himself for them.  
"Look!" Danielle said.  
Everybody looked and saw Vandal Black flying out of the explosion.  
"He's unstoppable," William said.  
"Guys, guys, WATCH OUT!" Rachael said.  
A huge chunk of metal was flying towards their transport.  
"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" William cried.  
Danielle tried to dodge the debris, but it hit the VTOL's right turbine and caused the ship to start spinning and fall.  
"HOLD ON!" Danielle cried.  
Everybody held on for dear life as the transport fell down and had a crash landing that caused most of the passengers to be knocked out. Samuel began to hear voices after blacking out.  
"Don't worry…" a fading voice said, "It's going to be alright."  
"Let's get them to the nearest village," another fading voice said.

* * *

Everything went black for Samuel for a while. But he eventually heard another voice calling him.  
"Samuel?" a familiar voice asked, "Samuel?"  
Samuel opened his eyes, but his vision was very blurry, he could only make out rough shapes.  
"Who's there?" Samuel asked.  
"Wake up," the voice said.  
Samuel lifted his head from the bed he was on. It took a moment for his vision to return to normal, but he could see Danielle, holding her smashed jetpack, in chair across from him. They were both in a bedroom.  
"Where are we?" Samuel asked, "What happened?"  
"We crashed," Danielle said, "we were lucky to survive."  
"But where are we?" Samuel asked.  
"We're at Selkie's house," Danielle said, "We're not in Vale anymore…we're a whole continent away, in Anima."  
"What?" Samuel asked, "Wait, what about Max? Is he…?"  
"…He's dead," Danielle said.  
Tears began to well up in Samuel's eyes.  
"What about Rachael and William? Samuel asked.  
"They're fine," Danielle replied, "and Selkie too."  
"That's a relief," Samuel replied.  
Everything was quiet for a bit.  
"What do we do now?" Samuel asked.  
"Selkie said that she had a plan," Danielle said, "Seeing as how Vandal Black is still out there, Selkie's decided to go and find the rest of Team SHMR…alone."  
"Wait, what about us?" Samuel asked.  
"She wants us to stay here and out of trouble," Danielle said, "and after everything that's happened, we probably should."  
Danielle got up to put her demolished jetpack down and leave the room.  
"No," Samuel said.  
"What?" Danielle asked.  
"Max was my friend too," Samuel said, "I'm not going to let Selkie do this on her own."  
Danielle turned her face away from Samuel, and smiled.  
"That's the Samuel I know," Danielle said, "We're all waiting downstairs for you."  
Danielle went downstairs, Samuel followed a little later, after changing out of young men's pajamas he was wearing and into his old clothes, which had a few tears here and there.

* * *

"Well, I suppose you can all come along," Selkie said to the others as Samuel walked down the stairs, "When do you all want to set out?"  
"I think that we should all have some rest," Rachael said.  
"Yeah…we need some time to recuperate," William said.  
"Samuel?" Danielle asked as Samuel approached the table everyone was sitting at, "What do you think?"  
"…Whenever you're all ready," Samuel said.

* * *

A few days later, everybody was packed up and ready to leave for the long journey ahead.  
"So, your teammates, they're here?" Samuel asked.  
"Yes," Selkie replied, "They should still be in Anima."  
Samuel searched around for something when he came to a picture of a younger Max and Selkie, each with one arm over the other's shoulder, in a Beacon dorm room.  
"Is this you and Max?" Samuel asked.  
Selkie picked up the picture and stared at it.  
"Yes," Selkie said, "it is."  
"You two looked like you were close," Samuel said.  
"You have no idea," Selkie said as she put the picture in her backpack.  
"Was he your boyfriend or something?" Samuel asked.  
"He was more." Selkie said, "He…he…was my husband."  
"Wow…" Samuel said as Selkie left the house, "I never knew."

* * *

Meanwhile, Vandal Black was starting a quest of his own.  
"So, you know where they are?" Vandal Black asked a Black Talon soldier at their HQ as he put a new mask on.  
"Yes…it took a while," the soldier said, "but we've located your old team."  
"Good, now that Max Sentinel is dead," Vandal said, "They'll have nothing to fear."  
Vandal set out, on his own, to search for his team, as SWRD was about to do the same for Selkie.

* * *

"So, you all ready?" Samuel asked as he locked the front door behind him, looking at the team's new outfits (Samuel: a navy blue jacket with a white vertical stripe down the middle and dark blue jeans. Rachael: a brown sleeveless shirt; a light brown vest; blue shorts with a belt; and brown high-rise boots. William: a dark green longsleeve shirt with shoulder armor, and blue jeans. He also had spiky hair. Danielle: a shirt with a reversed color scheme of her old one; a grey miniskirt and a backpack that was carrying the parts of Penny that she had grabbed at Beacon, it also had a spot to hold Nightfire. She also had her hair in a ponytail.)  
"You know us," Rachael said.  
"We're always ready," William said.  
"I may not have my jetpack anymore," Danielle said, "But I was never bothered with walking."  
"Selkie?" Samuel asked.  
"I know the way," Selkie said, "So we're good."  
"Then let's go," Samuel said.  
Team SWRD and Selkie set out, to search for Max and Selkie's old teammates.

* * *

 **Well, that was a thing. So, yeah, quite a lot happened in those 4000+ words. Take a look at the Season 4 sneak peek once you're done reading this (if it's not up, wait a few minutes and check again).**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	41. Season 4 Teaser

**Sorry that this sneak peek was late, but I posted chapter 36 in a rush.**

* * *

Samuel was resting comfortably in his sleeping bag, until Danielle began to shake him.

"Samuel, wake up!" Danielle said quietly.

"What is it?" Samuel asked, rubbing his eyes.

"It's William and Rachael, they're gone!" Danielle replied quietly.

"What?!" Samuel asked.

Samuel got up and began looking for his two sleeping teammates, weapons and sleeping bags. What they didn't know was that the White Fang was having a recruitment drive in Anima.

* * *

"Thank you all for coming." the White Fang lieutenant said from up on top of a stage, "It's a pleasure to see you all here."

The crowd of Faunas and White Fang soldiers paid close attention.

"Our attack on Beacon was a success," the lieutenant said, "they're still suffering because of the Grimm that keep flooding in."

The crowd cheered.

"Now, enough old news." the lieutenant said, "Onto new matters."

The crowd listened in anticipation.

"Allow me to welcome out newest recruits to our ranks." the lieutenant said, "All new recruits, step forward."

The crowd of Faunas who were wearing civilian clothes and small White Fang visors walked up onto the stage.

"Now, all of you want to serve in the White Fang," the lieutenant said as he passed by the line of recruits, "but we don't let just anybody join, we only accept those who complete our training regimen, and believe me, only few will pass."

Some recruits began to get nervous.

"If you manage to pass the test, then you will be welcomed as brothers and sisters in the White Fang." the lieutenant said, "After that, you will be sent on missions to gain what the Faunas always deserved, control."

The lieutenant continued walking down the line of recruits.

"It will not be without sacrifice, without danger," the lieutenant said, "so I ask you..."

The lieutenant stopped in front of two important Faunas.

"are you ready to make the ultimate sacrifice?" the lieutenant asked.

"Sir, yes, sir!" the two Faunas replied.

"Excellent." the lieutenant said, "Remove your masks, we wish to see your faces."

The recruits took of their masks, revealing their faces and...William and Rachael.

"Congratulations, your test begins in a few days." the lieutenant said.

* * *

 **So, seems like things are going to be pretty crazy in Season 4. BTW, look forward to some episodes of a CHIBI series based off of Cloak and SWRD in the future.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	42. Season 4 Trailer 1

**Okay, here's the first of two trailers for Season 4. These will be pretty short, so the next one will be posted sometime before next Thursday.**

* * *

"So, they're in Mistral?" Danielle asked as she, Samuel and Selkie were walking along a path.  
"In Anima, technically; Mistral is a kingdom, not the continent," Selkie replied.  
Selkie stumbled for a moment.  
"You okay?" Danielle asked.  
"Losing Max was painful," Selkie said, "I'll just have to take some time to recuperate."  
"Yeah," Danielle said.  
"What I want to know is what happened to William and Rachael," Samuel said, "It's like they just suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night."  
"I know, I want to find them too," Danielle said.  
The group didn't see the penetrating, red eyes staring at them from the darkness of the woods.  
Moments later, a low growl could be heard (but only be Danielle and Selkie, considering that they're both Fox Faunas).  
"Do you hear that?" Danielle asked.  
"Hear what?" Samuel asked.  
"Sounds like…Grimm," Selkie said, pulling her weapon out and turning it into its physical combat form.  
Samuel and Danielle activated their weapons and formed a kill circle with Selkie.  
"Be ready," Samuel said.  
The three peoples' muscles tensed, waiting for the attack. Not too long after, a large Beowolf burst out from behind a bush and charged at the threesome.  
"He's mine!" Samuel said.  
Samuel activated an Earth Dust Blade and sliced the Grimm's head clean off.  
"That seemed too easy," Samuel said.  
Suddenly, a whole bunch of Grimm, ranging from Beowolves to Ursas came out onto the path.  
"Like I said, too easy!" Samuel said.  
Selkie and Danielle rushed at the Grimm. Danielle ran and shot at the Grimm with Nightfire as Selkie did the same with her Prism Gun.  
Selkie activated her Crystal Sword and used it to stab through an Ursa. And then a bunch of Grimm ran at her back, Selkie pulled the sword out of the Ursa and then proceeded to blast the group of Grimm behind her with her weapon's ranged form.  
Samuel turned Northstar into its rifle form and shot some holes through a group of Beowolves, he then proceeded to use the nightstick form to block an incoming attack from an Ursa.  
Danielle held her sniper like a club and hit an Ursa across the face, when it was looking back at her; the sniper's barrel was aimed right at the monster's face. Danielle pulled the trigger and fired, killing the beast.  
The fighting continued for a few minutes, with more and more Grimm being killed.  
"Incoming!" Danielle said as some Creeps came down the path, stampeding towards her.  
"I've got this!" Samuel said.  
Samuel aimed his Dust Blade at the ground.  
"Polar Bear!" Samuel said.  
Samuel remembered something a split-second later, William and Rachael were missing.  
"Samuel!" Danielle said, just before shooting the Creeps through their heads, "Concentrate!"  
"Sorry, Danielle," Samuel said.  
"Apologize later," Danielle said, "Let's worry about surviving right now."  
"Speaking of which, look out!" Samuel said as a Beowolf ran up behind Danielle.  
The Beowolf hit Danielle and knocked her over, knocking stuff out of her backpack.  
"Danielle!" Samuel said, stabbing the Grimm with an Ice Dust Blade, "Are you alright?"  
"Yeah, thanks," Danielle said as she got back up.  
A good-sized group of Beowolves charged at the threesome from the forest.  
"I'll take care of them," Selkie said.  
Selkie stood in front of the two teammates, put her hands out and sent a huge burst of electricity (twice as big as Danielle could) through the Grimms' bodies, killing them.  
"What was that?" Samuel asked.  
"My Semblance," Selkie said.  
"Wait, your Semblance lets you use…" Samuel said, just before noticing the stuff that fell out of Danielle's backpack, "What're these?"  
Samuel walked over to the stuff and saw that it was a bunch of circuits and robot parts, including the upper torso, right arm and head of the robot girl, Penny.  
"Where'd you get these?" Samuel asked, examining the parts.  
"From the Amity Coliseum," Danielle said, "I figured that if we took those parts with, I could repair her."  
"Well," Samuel said, "If anyone can do it, it's you."  
"I know," Danielle said, "And I will."  
Danielle put the pieces back in the backpack and the group continued on their journey to seek the aid of Max and Selkie's old teammates.

* * *

 **Trailer #2 for Season 4 will be posted soon.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	43. Season 4 Trailer 2

"Today your test begins," the White Fang general said to the new recruits of the White Fang, "Some of you may not survive, some of you may fail. So keep this in mind: we only take the best of the best."  
Some of the recruits began to get tense.  
"That being said, if you can complete the test, you will part of the biggest revolution in the history of the Faunas." the general said.  
The general moved to the side and the big door on one end of the room everybody was in opened up to reveal an indoor training arena.  
"Defeat all of the guards and secure the facility." the general said, "Our supervisors will not help any of you; so you must do this on your own."  
Everybody readied their weapons, but Rachael and William prepared their classic weapons.  
"Begin!" the general said.  
All of the recruits charged in, and the robot guards turned towards them and fired. Some of the recruits were shot before they could find cover.  
William and Rachael found cover behind a large pillar.  
"William, how're we going to do this?" Rachael asked.  
"Don't ask me," William replied, "I'm not the one who makes the plans."  
A bunch of bullets flew by the twosome.  
"I guess that it's now or never!" Rachael said.  
Rachael ran out from behind the cover, did a sideways somersault and, as she did all of that, was shooting down guards.  
"That works!" William said.  
William moved from behind the pillar and used his rail gun to send a group of guards flying. He then turned his weapon into its broadsword form and hit a few more guards away. The fighting continued until a surprise blast got William in the back, he was about to get shot again, but Rachael came to her friend's aid and blocked any other bullets with her knives.  
"William, a little help?" Rachael asked.  
"Got it," William replied.  
William activated his rail gun and fired at the guard who had shot him.  
"We're almost there!" Rachael said.  
A bazooka guard ran up and shot a rocket at William and Rachael. The rocket missed, but it sent William and Rachael flying at a wall. When the twosome got back up, they were surrounded by guards.  
"Fast Paw Special?" Rachael asked.  
"Fast Paw Special," William replied.  
William stabbed Quake into the ground and shook the training arena, this gave Rachael time to grab William's hand. William swung his hand from left to right, with Rachael on the end kicking the guards down. William let go of Rachael and she flew at the bazooka guard.  
Rachael put her knives forwards so that, when she hit the guard, her knives pierced the guard's torso. When Rachael pulled her knives out of the torso, she could see the circuitry that was in the lifelike guard robots.  
"Excellent," the general said, "All surviving recruits, please meet me at the arena's entrance.  
William, Rachael and any of the other recruits, the ones who were still alive that is, went to the arena's entrance.  
"Congratulations on completing our test," the general said, "It is my honor and duty to welcome you into our ranks."  
A few White Fang soldiers came in, holding one White Fang outfit for each of the new soldiers.  
"Your new uniforms," the general said, "Please go to your assigned rooms and be ready for your first mission."

* * *

William and Rachael went to their rooms, but on the way to hers, Rachael accidentally ran into somebody. A female, fifteen year-old, Faunas with a stag beetle horn on her head.  
"Hello there," the Faunas said, "You must be new here."  
"Uh…yeah." Rachael replied, "Who're you?"  
"To make a long story short, I've been assigned to be one of your roommates," the Faunas said, "And the name is Christina Stag."  
"Nice to meet you," Rachael said, giving the girl a handshake, "Can you lead me to the quarters I'll be staying in?"  
"Sure," Christina replied, "I'll introduce you to everybody."


	44. On Unfamiliar Roads

**Okay, time for the Season 4 premiere. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Nothing ever lasts," Vandal Black thought to himself as he walked along the dark, forested path, "Especially things that are said to last."  
Vandal put his hand on a nearby, small tree.  
"Things like trees, for example; they may grow and last for what seems to be an eternity." Vandal thought, "But one day…"  
Vandal Black took out one of his swords and sliced the tree in two.  
"…Even things as strong as these will one day die." Vandal said, "And like this tree, Max Sentinel has died, leaving me all the opportunity I need to gather my forces and achieve my ultimate goal."  
Vandal felt the greed surge through him.  
"Vengeance," Vandal said, "For my past."  
Vandal's negative emotion got the attention of a bunch of nearby Grimm, which leapt out at him moments later.  
"Well, it's been a while," Vandal said as a humongous Creep came through the trees.  
The beast screeched and the other Grimm charged at Vandal.  
Vandal pulled out his second sword and began to slice through a bunch of the Grimm. At one point, a large Ursa seemed to get the drop on him, but that was cut short when Vandal decapitated it.  
The Grimm all ran at Vandal, but he activated his double-bladed sword form and simply mowed them all down.  
"Really? After all of this time, I thought you would improve." Vandal said.  
The Creep approached Vandal and yelled at him.  
"Well then, I suppose it's time to put you out of your misery," Vandal said.  
Vandal activated the dual pistol form of each of his swords and shot the beast, pushing it back. He then activated the whips and grabbed one the monster's legs and pulled it, making it trip.  
The Creep got back up and charged at Vandal, who just stood there. The Creep made a head-on collision with Vandal, but it pole-vaulted over Vandal.  
"Wow, you completely forgot what happened last time," Vandal said.  
Vandal jumped up, and landed on the Grimm's back. Vandal activated his dual swords and stabbed the monster in the back.  
The Creep shook wildly, sending Vandal flying and leaving his swords behind.  
"I suppose I'll actually have to start trying." Vandal said.  
Vandal let out a sonic scream, this disoriented the beast and allowed him to land on its back and pull his swords out. He then activated the double-bladed sword form, spun around in midair, thanks to his bat wings, which were now hid under a cape, and cut the monster's head clean off.  
"I always knew I was better," Vandal said, before walking off, leaving the beast to disintegrate.

* * *

Sometime later, some other people in Anima continued on a journey of their own.  
"So, do you know where your old teammates are living now?" Danielle asked.  
"Not exactly," Selkie replied, "Well, I know where one of them is living, but I don't know where the other is."  
"Well, I suppose that we should look for the one you know first." Danielle said, "What do you think, Samuel?"  
"Huh?" Samuel asked, "What did you ask?"  
"I was thinking that we should go and find the place that Selkie knows one of her old teammates is," Danielle said.  
"That's a good idea," Samuel said.  
"Are you thinking about our missing teammates?" Danielle asked.  
"Yeah," Samuel replied, "I just…I don't know where they went or what happened."  
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're just fine," Selkie said.

* * *

But, somewhere else in Anima, a White Fang assault on a Dust shipment from Graviton's company was beginning.  
"So, you hear what happened to the boss?" a guard asked.  
"That he joined up with the Black Talon and went missing recently?" another asked.  
"Yeah." the first replied, "Wonder who's going to take over."  
"Think about it later, and get back on patrol," the second guard said.  
The first guard walked off.  
"Sorry if that sounded mean," the second guard said, "I've just had a bad day."  
"It's about to get worse," a nearby, female voice said.  
The guard turned and saw a sword stuck through his coworker's back, and a female White Fang soldier holding it.  
"Sound the alarm!" the guard said, "We have…!"  
But the guard was cut off by a hit from a big, black White Fang soldier, who was followed by another soldier, but this one was female, white and had a cheetah tail.  
"Excellent work, William," the first female soldier said, "Now you and your friend—Rachael—have to secure the cargo deck."  
"Yes, ma'am," William and Rachael replied.  
William and Rachael moved to their next objective.

* * *

After sneaking below deck, William and Rachael had begun their next objective.  
"Alright," William said, "You know what to do."  
Rachael ran behind some cover that was further ahead, and peeked around it. Rachael saw a pair of guards protecting a bunch of crates.  
"We've got two guards," Rachael whispered to William after getting back to her friend.  
"Let me take care of them," William said.  
William crept down an open path and came to a tower of crates; he then shoved them so they landed on, and took out, the guards.  
"Nice move," Rachael said, walking past her friend, "Now let's just make sure that nobody finds out until we're done here."  
But as soon as Rachael finished, a group of guards came around the corner.  
"We heard the crash, are you guys alright?" a guard asked, before seeing William and Rachael.  
"Intruders!" another guard said.  
Rachael and William looked at each other, nodded, and ran at the guards. Bullets started to fly at the pair, but William blocked most of them with his sword. Rachael ran faster and began to hit the guards with her knives. William followed Rachael's lead and hit a few guards with his big fists.  
"That takes care of them," Rachael said.  
"Did we get all of them?" William asked.  
William and Rachael looked around and then saw one last guard, he was using a communicator.  
"We have intruders!" the guard said, "The White Fang is here!"  
An alarm started to blare.  
Rachael ran at, and took out, the guard.  
"What are we going to do?" William asked.  
"Well, neither of us are good at coming up with great plans," Rachael said.  
"Wait," William said, "Didn't they say that we have to secure the cargo deck?"  
"Yeah…why?" Rachael asked.  
"I might have a plan," William said.  
"Honestly, you having a plan kind of worries me," Rachael said.  
"Just trust me," William said.

* * *

Minutes later, the cargo deck was filled with more guards.  
"Search for the intruders." a commanding officer said, "Kill on sight."  
Rachael and William were standing on a large group of crates.  
"William, are you sure about this plan?" Rachael asked.  
"Don't worry," William said, "It will work."  
The group of guards gathered in a small clearing.  
"Find anything?" a guard asked.  
Everyone else replied negatively.  
"I found something!" William called out from behind some crates.  
"What is it?" one of the guards asked  
William walked out.  
"This!" William said before blasting the guards with his rail gun, but instead of blowing them up, it electrocuted and knocked them out.  
"Nice idea," Rachael said, "I didn't know that you could load Dust into Quake's barrel."  
"Time to kill the alarm," William said.  
Rachael found a control panel and pressed the communication button.  
"We have taken care of the intruders," Rachael said, "Condition: normal."  
The alarm stopped.  
"Great job." William and Rachael said to each other.  
Suddenly, their commander's voice began to talk to them via their comms.  
"We heard the alarm," the commander asked, "What happened?"  
"We took care of the situation," Rachael replied, "Everything is under control."  
"Excellent," the commander said, "The entire ship is under our control, return to the upper deck."  
William and Rachael went above deck and met with their commander.  
"You are to join our forces and head to Menagerie," the commander said, "You are going to be stationed there."  
"Yes, ma'am," William and Rachael replied.  
William and Rachael boarded a small boat and were soon off to Menagerie.

* * *

Meanwhile, Samuel and co. were continuing their journey.  
Samuel let out a long sigh.  
"Things just aren't the same," Samuel said, "What with us being in a whole other continent, our friends missing and Max Sentinel…"  
Samuel couldn't bring himself to say the word.  
"He was like a father to you," Selkie said, putting her hand on Samuel's shoulder, "And you were like a son to him…and to me."  
"But he's…he's…" Samuel said.  
"He's dead…" Danielle said, finishing Samuel's sentence, "He will be missed."  
"I just hope that we can avenge him by finding your old teammates," Samuel said.  
"We know where one is," Danielle said, "But the other's little more...let's say closed-off."  
"In other words," Samuel said, "We have a long road ahead of us. Let's hope we're ready for whatever gets thrown at us."  
Samuel, Danielle and Selkie thought they were ready…but were they really?

* * *

 **So yeah, that's the Season 4 premiere chapter. It is going to weird writing the characters with them being on opposite sides, but it will be interesting.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	45. A Long-held Discussion

**Okay, this chapter is going to be a shorter one, I have been using prewritten (as in: I already wrote these beforehand)** **chapters up to this point.**

* * *

"You know where he lives?" Selkie asked.  
"Yes," the villager Selkie was talking to replied, "He lives just outside of town."  
"Thanks." Selkie replied, "Take this for your trouble."  
Selkie handed the villager some Lien and then went to go find Samuel and Danielle, who were waiting in a small park.  
"So, Danielle, how're Penny's repairs going?" Samuel asked.  
"I think I'm almost done," Danielle replied, "Should only take me another week or so."  
"Good, maybe she'll be able to help us locate Selkie's missing teammate, or our missing friends," Samuel said.  
"That won't be necessary for my teammate," Selkie said, approaching the twosome.  
"How come?" Samuel asked.  
"I was just talking to a local bar owner, he said that the missing teammate is living nearby," Selkie answered, "Not much longer than a day's walk away from here."  
"That's good," Samuel replied, "We should set out as soon as possible."  
The group packed up their gear and other supplies and headed out for the teammate's home.  
"Selkie?" Samuel asked as the threesome trekked down the path.  
"What is it?" Selkie asked.  
"About this teammate, who is he?" Samuel asked.  
"His name is Henry John," Selkie replied, "He's kind of a hermit. Not very social."  
"That would explain why you didn't know where he lived," Samuel said.  
"Yeah…" Selkie replied.  
"Sorry if that opened up any old wounds," Samuel said, "I didn't mean to."  
"I know you didn't." Selkie replied, "It's okay."  
Samuel slowed down so he was next to Danielle.  
"Sounds like Team SHMR must've had a bad run or something," Samuel whispered to Danielle.  
"I was thinking the same thing," Danielle said, "I think that it's best we watch what we say around Selkie."  
"I agree," Samuel said, "But for the time being, we have other things to worry about."

* * *

Meanwhile, Vandal Black was also searching for somebody…  
"Now, where to find a strategist?" Vandal thought.  
Vandal looked around the cliff-like area and saw a male hiker.  
"A place to start," Vandal said.  
Vandal removed his mask (but not the new hood that would keep his bat ears down), and approached the hiker.  
"Excuse me, sir, can I ask you something?" Vandal asked.  
"Sure," the hiker replied, "What is it?"  
"Have you seen a very militaristic fellow living around here?" Vandal asked.  
"I haven't seen him, but I've heard that he lives around here," the hiker replied.  
"Thank you, sir," Vandal said, walking off.  
"But I've also heard that he's bad news," the hiker said.  
"I can handle myself," Vandal said.  
"That's not what I meant…" the hiker said.  
Vandal's hands slowly went towards his concealed swords' hilts.  
"I think you've heard too much," Vandal said.  
Vandal pulled out his swords and ran at the hiker, who pulled out a metal rope, grabbed the swords' blades with it and pulled Vandal down.  
"You must be one of that guy's associates," the hiker said.  
"I guess you figured it out," Vandal said.  
"And as a Huntsman, I can't allow you to find him," the hiker, who turned out to be a Huntsman, said.  
"Make me," Vandal said.  
Vandal ran at the Huntsman, activated the whip forms of his swords, which were still wrapped by the metal rope; jumped over the man while spinning and wrapped the Huntsman in a mess of metal and chains.  
"All too easy," Vandal said.  
Vandal walked over to the Huntsman and kicked him, sending him off of the nearby cliff. Vandal then retracted his whips and let the Huntsman fall to his doom.  
"Now, to find the strategist," Vandal said.

* * *

Later that day, after the sun had set, at the camp that the threesome had set up, the group was about to have an interesting discussion.  
"Come on, get in there," Danielle growled, trying to shove an internal piece of Penny back into place.  
"Need some help?" Samuel asked.  
"No, I'm good," Danielle replied as she shoved the piece into place.  
"Okay," Samuel replied.  
Samuel walked back over to a large rock that he sat on next to the fire.  
"So, Selkie," Samuel said.  
"What?" Selkie asked.  
"We never really got an explanation about Max's Semblance, or yours." Samuel said, "And after what you did to those Grimm, I really want to know."  
"Well, I suppose I should stop leaving you in the dark," Selkie said, "On one condition."  
"What is it?" Samuel asked.  
"You explain your team's Semblances," Selkie said.  
"Deal." Samuel replied.  
"Okay…where to begin?" Selkie asked before thinking for a bit, "I guess I could start with Max."  
Danielle turned her attention from Penny's repairs to listen to Selkie.  
"Max pretty much has two Semblances, but it's really just one complicated Semblance." Selkie said, "Max's primary ability is mental sight, which lets him look anywhere in the world at the given moment, the second half of his Semblance can work in unison with that. He can also make portals that are a little bigger than his hand so he can reach through and grab something useful."  
"That would explain how he found us in the Forest of Forever Fall." Samuel replied, "What about your Semblance?"  
"My Semblance is, well, somewhat overpowered." Selkie said, "My Semblance allows me to copy the Semblance of anybody nearby and increase the strength of it, but I can only mimic one Semblance at a time and then I have to wait before using my Semblance again."  
"Makes sense, considering what you did to those Grimm," Danielle said.  
"Now that ours have been explained, how about yours?" Selkie asked.  
"Well, mine hasn't been unlocked yet," Samuel said, "But that's not to say it won't."  
"I know that you're very familiar with mine," Danielle said, "I can channel and discharge electricity, that did not end well with Nora."  
"How about your teammates?" Selkie asked.  
"I'll explain Rachael's." Samuel said, "Danielle, would you mind explaining William's?"  
"Not at all," Danielle replied.  
"First of all, Rachael's Semblance is quite complicated." Samuel said, "Everybody assumes that it's just super speed, but it's actually a way to enhance her combat capabilities and reaction time. She likes to use her naturally high speed with her Semblance to incapacitate several enemies in a short amount of time, but doing so leaves her dizzy for a bit."  
"I see." Selkie said, "What about William?"  
"William's is actually very simple in contrast to Rachael's." Danielle said, "If he 'puts his foot down' or his sword into the ground, he can control seismic activity."  
"Normally the Semblances don't have any relation to one another," Samuel said, "But when put together in those team moves we made, they can work together quite well."  
"That's pretty much the only reason why we were known around Beacon." Danielle said, "Everybody had heard of our…somewhat unique system of team attacks."  
"Well, any team is supposed to work together closely and get along in harmony," Selkie said, "Otherwise, things will begin to fall apart."  
"Yeah, that is common logic after all," Samuel said, "I just wish that that didn't happen with us."  
"I'm sure that William and Rachael are fine," Selkie said, "They're probably trying to get back to you guys as we speak."  
But Selkie was wrong; it was just the opposite, seeing as how William and Rachael were heading in the opposite direction.

* * *

"Menagerie," mask-less Rachael said, putting her hands on the boat's railing, "Never been there."  
"I've heard that it's quite pretty," William, without his mask on, said, "For a small desert island that is."  
Rachael looked out at the ocean and sighed.  
"William, are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Rachael asked.  
"I'm not smart, but I do know one thing, we have a job to do," William said.  
"Speaking of which…" Rachael said, looking at the approaching White Fang officer.  
William and Rachael put their masks back on and stood at attention.  
"Soldiers," the officer said, "You are wanted below deck."  
"Yes, ma'am," Rachael and William replied in unison.  
"At ease," the officer said as she walked off.  
"Come on, William, it's like you said," Rachael said, "We have a job to do."  
William and Rachael went below deck, as instructed.

* * *

 **So, yeah, William and Rachael are a part of the White Fang and are heading to Menagerie. I'm glad to finally get the chance to explain the Semblances if anyone found them confusing. And, no, Selkie is not Danielle's mom.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


	46. Getting the Gangs Back Together

**Sorry about not posting at all lately. I have been working on my other stories lately, which you should go check out on my profile. That and the fact that the computer I originally used to write these chapters broke down and I wasn't able to upload the data to my storage device.**

* * *

Vandal Black walked through the mountainous regions, looking for his old teammate. Vandal soon came across a small cabin that rested on the mountainside.

"Ah, so this is where you set up shop." Vandal said.

Vandal walked over to the cabin and knocked on the door, which was opened by a man with a black crewcut, and a dark grey camo military uniform. His eyes were gold and he was about six feet tall.

"Vandal." the man said.

"Grant Kloud, my old friend." Vandal said, "How long has it been?"

"Too long." Grant said, "What do you want?"

"I have come with an offer." Vandal said.

"What kind of offer?" Grant asked.

"I'm getting the old team back together." Vandal said.

"What's the occasion?" Grant asked.

"You know our old pal, Max Sentinel?" Vandal asked.

"I remember him." Grant said, "Why do you ask?"

"He is dead." Vandal said, "I killed him myself."

"Interesting." Grant said, "Then why reform the team?"

"He was the only thing that stood against us." Vandal said, "And now that he's gone, victory is ripe for the taking."

"I see." Grant said, "Then I have only one thing to do."

"And what is that?" Vandal asked.

Grant swung his fist and a huge gust of wind sent Vandal flying towards the cliff's edge. Vandal stabbed his swords into the ground and screeched to a halt.

"You want me to beat you in combat?" Vandal asked.

"How very perceptive of you." Grant said.

"Then, I shall oblige." Vandal said.

Vandal and Grant ran at each other, ready to battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another nearby part of Anima, Samuel, Danielle, and Selkie were nearing their first destination.

"Is he nearby?" Samuel asked.

"He should be just up ahead." Selkie said.

The threesome came through the trees and a nice-looking cottage came into view.

"Nice place, for a hermit." Samuel said.

Danielle jabbed her friend in the arm.

"What?" Samuel asked, "It was a compliment."

Selkie ignored the conversation behind her and continued towards the house. Selkie knocked on the door and it was opened by a dark-skinned, blue-eyed man who was wearing a dark blue cloak and black pants.

"Selkie." the man said.

"Hi Henry, how's it going?" Selkie asked.

Henry didn't reply and looked over to Samuel and Danielle.

"Who are the children?" Henry asked.

"This is Samuel North and Danielle Riki." Selkie said, "They're good friends."

"Where's Max?" Henry asked.

"That's actually the reason we came." Selkie said, "He's..."

"Dead?" Henry asked.

"Yes." Selkie said, "He was killed by Vandal Black."

"And you want to get the team back together?" Henry asked.

Selkie nodded.

"I'm not interested." Henry said.

Henry slammed the door.

"Well, that was a waste." Samuel said.

"Please, is there any way we can change your mind?" Selkie asked.

"There is one way." Henry said.

"What is it?" Selkie asked.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Henry leapt out and rammed into the group, sending them flying. When they landed, they looked up and saw that Henry's skin had turned to metal and that he had gotten bigger.

"Prove to me that you stand a chance of winning this fight." Henry said.

Henry approached the group as they readied for combat.

* * *

Back up on the mountain, Vandal and Grant were in combat.

"Yah!" Vandal cried as he swung his swords at Grant.

Grant pulled his Ice sword out and used it to block Vandal's weapons.

"I see you have improved." Vandal said.

"I never stopped training." Grant replied.

Grant jumped back and transformed his weapon into some kind of gun. Grant pulled the trigger and sent balls of electricity at Vandal. Vandal avoided all of the attacks and transformed his swords into their pistol forms. Vandal and Grant opened fire on each other. Grant soon had an idea and put his gun away.

"What are you up to?" Vandal asked, remaining cautious.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Grant asked.

Grant pushed his hands together and focused. Soon, a huge gust of wind began to blow, it was so strong that it almost sent the twosome flying. Soon, though, the snow on the cliffs above fell down and the area was soon filled with a thick snowstorm.

"Clever tactic." Vandal said, "But you forget..."

Vandal took his mask off, revealing his bat ears.

"I'm full of tricks." Vandal said.

Vandal used his bat Faunas abilities to use echolocation and soon found Grant, but he was already coming to attack. Vandal turned his pistols back into swords and linked them at the hilts, creating a two-bladed staff. Grant swung his ice sword at Vandal again, but this was blocked.

"You clearly underestimate me." Vandal said.

"Then I guess I'll have to-." Grant said, right before Vandal roundhouse kicked him into the air.

Vandal split the swords apart and changed them into the pair of chain whips. Vandal swung the weapons forwards and grabbed Grant by the torso, he then proceeded to send Grant though the air and then slam him into the ground. Vandal turned the weapons back into the swords and then walked over to Grant as the snowstorm subdued, putting a sword up to his throat once he was over him.

"Do you yield?" Vandal asked.

"I yield." Grant said, "Even after training, you still win."

Grant got back up.

"Come now, Grant, we still have two more to find before our conquest can begin." Vandal said.

Grant grabbed whatever was needed from his home and set out with Vandal to find their two remaining teammates.

* * *

Back at Henry's house, the battle was beginning.

"Look out!" Danielle said.

Samuel and Danielle dodged the attacks from Henry and gained some distance.

"What's his Semblance?" Samuel asked.

"Henry John's Semblance is called ' _Colossus'_ , it enables him to turn his skin to metal, he also grows bigger and has an increase in strength!" Selkie said, "Which gives me an idea."

"What is it?" Samuel asked.

"Just buy me a little time!" Selkie said.

"Got it!" Samuel said.

Henry turned towards Selkie and ran her way.

"Samuel, open fire!" Danielle said.

Samuel and Danielle fired on Henry, but nothing happened to him.

"We didn't even make a dent!" Samuel said.

Danielle thought for a moment.

"Samuel, do you have any Blast Dust?" Danielle asked.

"Yeah, why?" Samuel asked.

"Give it to me." Danielle said.

Samuel handed Danielle his Blast Dust and she loaded it into her sniper rifle. Danielle soon opened fire on Henry, this knocked him down.

"Yeah!" Samuel cheered.

Henry got up and looked angrily at Samuel and Danielle.

"I don't like the way that he's looking at us." Samuel said.

Henry began to charge towards Danielle and Samuel, but he was stopped by a punch from Selkie, who's skin was now metal and she was also bigger than before.

"Great idea, Selkie!" Samuel said.

Selkie and Henry proceeded to punch at each other, they seemed be pretty even.

"Go, Selkie!" Samuel said.

Suddenly, Henry pulled a large hammer off of his back and slammed it into Selkie, sending her flying.

"Selkie!" Samuel said.

Selkie flew through the air and crashed into a nearby rock, shattering it and passing out.

"Uh oh." Samuel said.

Henry turned towards Samuel and Danielle. Henry pressed a button on his hammer and it became a cannon that was holding a large drill bit in the barrel.

"RUN!" Samuel said.

Danielle and Samuel ran away from Herny John's drill cannon blasts.

"Danielle, we need to find a way to knock him out!" Samuel said.

Danielle facepalmed.

"Why didn't we think of it before?" Danielle asked.

"What is it?" Samuel asked.

"Keep him busy!" Danielle said.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Samuel said.

Samuel pulled his Dust sword out and nervously stood before Henry.

"Do you think you stand a chance?" Henry asked as he turned his drill cannon back into a hammer.

"Not really." Samuel meekly said.

Henry swung his drill down and sent Samuel flying. Samuel activated an Earth Dust blade on his weapon and stabbed it into the ground, slowing his speed.

"Anytime, Danielle!" Samuel said.

Henry ran towards Samuel.

"Get back!" Danielle said.

Samuel jumped back from Henry's hammer and Danielle sent a huge ball of electricity towards Henry. The electricity coursed through Henry and knocked him out.

"That was close." Danielle said.

"Too close." Samuel said.

Selkie regained conscious as her skin turned back to normal and she shrunk back to her normal size.

"Oh...my head." Selkie said.

Selkie looked over at Henry.

"You guys beat him?" Selkie asked.

"It was because of Danielle's quick thinking." Samuel said.

"I can't believe that I didn't think of using electricity against metal sooner." Danielle said, "I mean, it worked against robots, so why not against a metal man?"

"Good thinking." Selkie said as she was helped up by her friends, "Now let's go talk to Henry."

The threesome walked over to Henry as he returned to normal.

"I guess I got careless." Henry said.

Henry stood back up.

"I guess you guys win." Henry said.

"So you'll come with us?" Samuel asked.

"Yeah." Henry said, "But...good luck getting Regi to join."

"Yeah..." Selkie said.

"Who's Regi?" Samuel asked.

"He's my brother." Selkie said.

"Why is that such a problem?" Danielle asked.

"Let's just say that he...kind of hates us." Selkie said, "And we're probably the last people he wants to see."

"Then...why not just send us?" Samuel asked.

"But you'd get totally beaten." Selkie said.

"We didn't call him the _human arsenal_ for nothing." Henry said.

"We can take care of ourselves." Samuel said, "Have a little faith in us."

Selkie hesitated for a moment.

"Fine." Selkie said, "We'll wait here for your return."

"Great." Samuel said, "Come on, Danielle, let's go!"

"Samuel..." Danielle said as she grabbed her friend by the shoulder, "We don't where he is."

"We're doomed." Henry said.

"Have a little faith." Selkie said, "We all need to."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Menagerie, William and Rachael had arrived at their assigned base of operations.

"And this is where all of you recruits will be working for your time here in Menagerie." Corsac said.

"We have provided all of the essentials, nothing more, nothing less." Fennik said.

"You will stay here in between assignments, is that understood?" Corsac asked.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Rachael, William, and the other White Fang recruits replied.

"Dismissed." Fennik said.

The White Fang recruits spread out to various parts of the base. As Rachael and William walked off, Rachael saw that they were being watched by the stag beetle Faunas from the test a few weeks back.

"I don't like the way that she's looking at us." Rachael whispered.

"Who?" William asked.

"Christina Stag." Rachael said, "I think she knows about us."

"Let's hope not." William said, "Otherwise, things could get really bad really fast."

Rachael and William walked off to try and escape Christina's gaze.

" _Here's hoping that you're who I think you are_." Christina thought to herself.

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter wasn't posted sooner, but computer problems and data loss really hit me hard when it came to upload time. I hope this chapter was worth the wait though. Before you ask, Henry John and Grant Kloud's intros were written similar on purpose.**

 **BTW, Henry John is based off of the legend of "John Henry". This character was created by MEWTWOisawesome, a good friend of mine on this site, you should go check him out.**

 **Powerhouse out.**


End file.
